Before-I-wake-Cover-Poster

Before I Wake (2016)

Before I Wake review

written by Souranath Banerjee

With better performances and a proper ending the film could have achieved real greatness in this particular genre.   

My ratings: 3.7/5

A regular horror flick surrounding a scary child and some clueless adults terrified by the unknown – well, close enough but not that stereotyped after all.

before-i-wake-poster2Before I Wake is a supernatural thriller where the basic concept revolves around a child’s dreams that become real, but unfortunately so does his nightmares!

Yes, an orphaned 8-year-old boy, Cody (Jacob Tremblay) who is recently taken in by a young couple Mark and Jessie (Thomas Jane and Kate Bosworth), but soon enough the loving foster-parents discover Cody’s special talent (unintentional though) to turn his dreams into actual physically-tangible reality.

As long as they are bright colored butterflies or cute dead kids back to life, nobody seemed to complain but when the dreams started to conjure up hollow-eyed demons who likes to swallow up people, its time to panic and look for a remedy to stop Cody’s nightmares.

before-i-wake-poster3The horror coefficient is high but the real USP of the film Before I Wake is the child actor Jacob Tremblay’s superb performance and of course the brilliant use of visual effects.

But then the acting abilities of the grown ups, specially Kate Bosworth playing the desperate, grief stricken, emotionally drenched mother towards the end of the film needed to look a bit more convincing.

And then, the ending itself for me really doesn’t live up to it’s expectations, open ended to the extent of undecided!

Nevertheless, director Mike Flanagan is surely honing his skills in the horror genre, Before I Wake being his third horror flick after Absentia in 2011 and Oculus in 2013 and is definitely his best work till date.  

If you like being scared you will be rewarded generously.

Poster courtesy: www.impawards.com

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