Dead Awake (2016) Online

The movie is nothing new, nothing you haven't seen before. I could name about 3 4 just last year.

I am not familiar with the actual "sleep paralyses" problem but it must be terrifying. This film is obviously using it and mixing it up with "The Ring" and the many other similar horror movies.

I honestly got bored and even started to make jokes as some of the things happening were just plain silly. Very Blah movie. Would not recommend it to anyone looking for a good horror film or a good scare. Not going to get any with this one.... Sorry, I did jump once, the first time I saw the "entity" appear. Then it was all fun and giggles.

As someone who has experienced sleep paralysis countless times, I can say the ordeal is extremely terrifying. The concept & real life experiences could have made this a very decent movie, but it completely missed the mark. This movie doesn't even deserve one star, but I that's the lowest I could rate it. I wasn't expecting one of the greatest movies ever made, but I at least thought I would have a jump moment, feel tension, anything. I just found myself checking to see how much time was left.

Watching "Dead Awake" made me sleepy. The acting was so dreadful I honestly wanted to get sleep paralysis myself - I guess experiencing that (horryfying condition nonetheless) would have been more interesting than listening to the wooden dialogues, watching no chemistry between ANY of the characters. The music that was such crap, that I honestly thought it was put on there by accident, the camera work, the lights, the sound in general, those inconsistencies. It was ...........

Nah.... you know what? No. To hell with it - watch it! I could go on and on and tell you why this movie is so appalling but no - watch it and see for yourself.

And when you reach the 50-minute mark and you get to the point where the main lead asks "Where's Linda?" and you get to "experience" the dialogue that follows.... the "ACTING" from both of the female characters pretty much sums up this garbage of a movie.

Yeah, watch it.

I suppose all I can say to the team that made this film is.... "great job" (with sarcastic, Heath Ledger's Joker's clapping).

2/10 because I know that Jocelin CAN act, it just seems to me she forgot how to do it this time.

Curtain!

My God, was that movie terrible.....

Uh oh! A scary ghost is slowly spreading through a group of friends and picking them off one by one! But this time it involves sleep paralysis so this time it's different, right? RIGHT?

It's kind of like a really slow-paced, watered down version of The Ring. The ghost isn't particularly scary once you actually see what she looks like, which happens pretty early on. Death scenes are uninteresting and repetitive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that a movie can't be a good horror without buckets of blood, but for that to work there needs to be tension and suspense, and there's none to be seen here. Most of the movie just consists of the characters standing around talking about the ghost and trying to convince various people that it exists.

Sorry to anyone who actually likes this, but basically this is a horror-lite movie for people who don't actually like horror movies. That's the only crowd I can imagine enjoying this. It's not scary, it's not thrilling, and it's not interesting. It's an absolute waste of a great concept that maybe someone better can try again someday.

The film opens with the definition of "sleep paralysis." And don't worry if you missed it it is repeated by Dr. Tank Girl (Lori Petty). Beth has it and her twin sister Kate (Jocelin Donahue) doesn't. Soon Beth doesn't have it and Kate does as does nearly everyone around her. During this time they are visited by a hag who chokes them. Sometimes they die. Like Santa, you must either believe or be very pretty for it to come visit.

Go to sleep and see a hag. Not as interesting as a Freddie film, where you move around in your sleep trying to escape. Face it, people laying there getting choked by a hag is low energy. The cover scene was interesting as a spider lowers itself on the open eye of the paralyzed girl, except we see her move her eyelids afterwards...something I might have done with a spider descending into my eye and not wait until I am choked. The sister relationships didn't work for me, it seems they were not developed properly as if they cut a scene. It wasn't until the end that we got the real story. And the final scene with Tank Girl should have come in the middle of the film and been part of the feature.That is the formula we want to see. I didn't find the film scary, but if you have sleep paralysis it might scare the bejesus out of you. And would you sleep around a guy who looked like Hassan (Jesse Borrego)? Hey, Hassan, as long as you are not sleeping, go take a shower and wash your greasy stringy hair.

Guide: infrequent F-word. No sex. Brief blurred butt body double nudity.

Winner of Best Thriller Feature Film Award at Shriekfest 2016.

OK, firstly 'Sleep Paralysis' is very real because I had experienced it at least 3 times in my life now. It was always around morning time just when I was waking up, still feeling that slight drowsiness. In my 'Sleep Paralysis', I felt like I was caught between my dreamlike state and the real world. My mind was very much alert or so I thought. I'm not so sure now. I recalled I couldn't move any part of my body but I could open my eyes and I had no problem breathing. Everything in my room looked exactly the way it was. However, what frightened me was the whispering voices which were all around me. I could not make out what they were saying or whether they were spoken by men or women. I can not remember what went on in my mind just that I was very scared. The paralysis went on for at least 1 to 2 seconds and then suddenly I was able to move and this time I knew I was fully awake. Normally I would forget my dreams after an hour or a day, but I recall every moment of my 'Sleep Paralysis' after so many years. Therefore I know I was not dreaming. In this movie, people died from it and I believe people can die from that. I was in my early 20s and 30s when I experienced my 'Sleep Paralysis',I was scared as hell but I could handle it. I'm in my late 50s now. If It happens again, I would either get a stroke or die from a heart attack. I enjoy watching horror movies but being frighten by a movie does not even come close to being scared when experiencing 'Sleep Paralysis'. Part of this movie is true but 'Sleep Paralyses' is not contagious. This movie is a joke making people think that it can transfer from person to person, example the scene where the girlfriend died and the sister slept over at the boyfriend's place and suddenly the girl's demon from her 'Sleep Paralysis' happened to the boyfriend. What a load of rubbish. If they had taken this story a bit more seriously, I would have enjoyed it. But it was not scary at all.

So first i gotta complement Jocelin Donahue ,, she did well in the beginning of the movie doing the two sisters roles ,, but the movie plot was just bad ,, the script was slow for a Horror/Thriller genre ,, watched it on my laptop "thankfully" so i kept on speeding up to see the good part till i found myself in the credits :D

The cast was okay ,, i watched Jesse Bradford before "in a comedy" :D so this was weird ,, Jesse Borrego "Dr. Hassan" was just not sensible to be a psychiatric , and even Lori Petty "Dr. Sykes" was so obvious and not engaging .

My advice find some other movie to watch ,, Not recommended.

"Dead Awake" centers around two sisters (both played by Jocelin Donahue). One is a recovering addict, the other is a social worker. After they both start having the same nightmare (which involves dying during sleep paralysis), some digging is done and it seems there have been many people dying under these same circumstances.

I did not find anything original in this movie. The "monster" looks like it crawled--literally--out of "The Ring" franchise. One scene was practically stolen from the original "Nightmare on Elm Street." I'm glad those involved with this POS decided to be sure everyone knows when something bad is going to happen because each victim is treated to a "lights-off; lights-on" trick.

I had to laugh at one reviewers summation, especially when they warned about watching out if you are drinking or eating something because you may spill your drink or you might drop your food. Funny, the only thing I thought about during the movie was how I could keep my food and drink DOWN.

Rated R (couldn't tell you why) and not recommended.

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which a sleeping person experiences movement inability. This even happens in many people. Clinically, it doesn't hurt but psychologically is terrifying. Of course the reason is not demon/evil but whatever it is, it makes you uncomfortable. I have had such experiences while napping in the afternoon (and not nights!). I have felt that I want to awake but not able to do so. Something strange. At that point, I feel going deeply sleep (or die!) and then attempting to wake up but it is very difficult. Well, no body dies because of sleep paralysis. Now let us to be focused on the movie.

Accepting the fact that sleep paralysis doesn't lead to death, the movie tried to show us it might takes a life which is fantasy than reality. DEAD AWAKE is a little be chilling but not for me because I am rarely terrified by a horror/thriller movie. If you are an easy terrifying person, then there you go. Watch it! It is just a ghost/evil with funny make up! (I don't like that kind of masks!). This is the first Guzman's work I have ever seen honestly. It was directed well. The story could be more close to reality. Camera setting was good. Designs and decorators were good. Actions/plays were not super duper and fascinating but acceptable. I liked Jocelin Donahue's role. All together, I think this movie had much much more potential to be made in better ways. Don't be afraid. It is a supernatural movie without any gore or slashing scene. I was not disappointed but I will definitely not see it again.

A film about sleep paralysis, the only theme I've been more scared of going in to a film (see: "The Nightmare") than I have waking up the next day (as in, I thought I was going to have nightmares and wake up paralyzed but then woke up the next day having forgotten all about it).

Well here's the fiction take, including the woefully underutilized since "The House of the Devil" actress Jocelin Donahue. It's too bad the the film itself is a tepid, creaky tale of a sleepytime boogeyman that strangles you while you lay there paralyzed. That's not exactly scary. The plot is just pure nonsense and the film has literally no tension nor atmosphere to speak of.

'Dead Awake' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Dead Awake' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a couple of decent, even good, qualities in 'Dead Awake'.

Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the decent way it's shot.

A few unsettling moments here and there.

However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary it got. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best and the acting never rises above mediocre and often awful.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. A lot of the film has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations.

There is very little threat here and what there is of it is used poorly, while the psychological elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show the horror of sleep paralysis which is actually terrifying but completely trivialised here. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is pretty leaden and the music doesn't really fit.

Concluding, very poor. 2/10 Bethany Cox

a very by-the-book, Hollywood-style budget horror movie written by Jeffrey Reddick, author of Final Destination and sequels. the acting and dialogue are not bad, though nothing special. the same goes for the monster design and make-up

my problem with the film is that it's primarily story-driven with a less-than-inspired premise: sleep paralysis is apparently an always-fatal phenomenon that entails sufferers being strangled to death in their sleep by an otherworldly entity, referred to as The Hag, who looks like an angry old woman. the movie takes what is genuinely a very frightening experience for a lot people and makes it -less- scary

it's essentially a poorly remade Nightmare on Elm Street with adult characters and a generic, unexplained Freddy. i can't recommend this movie, but if you're interested in the subject of sleep paralysis, try The Nightmare by director Rodney Ascher

Actually a great horror movie, even though it's basically a mix between Nightmare on the Elm Street and Ring, nothing new at all.

The monster is like a girl from the Ringu and it also prefers to crawl rather than walking to do its, ehm, things, which is stupid and always was stupid ("look ---- I CRAWL! SLOOOWLY! ARE...YOU...SCAAAAARRRRRRED? No? F/ck.").

However, the movie is captivating and atmospheric, not to mention very well done overall (aside from a couple of fade-ins by the editor, why?). Actors do their best and they're believable. The characters are standard (like all ya Americans, right?), but not very stupid and ultra-thin, like in most of the other US / Hollywood horror movies. Some kind of movie magic happened here and I believe the great cast was one of the reasons.

Most horror fans will have seen it all before and this one, written by Jeffry Reddick, who was part of the Final Destination series was the main reason I looked at it.

Jesse Bradford and Jocelin Donahue are very solid as Evan and Kate, the lead characters and they hold the movie together well.

That's all I am going to say about the movie, I'm not into giving the plot away and going into detail about a movie like some reviewers, you will have to check it out yourself.

Word of warning. Use careful timing if you are eating and drinking during it. I nearly wore my drink and could have choked on my food in a few scare moments that genuinely gave me a fright even though I was expecting them. Kudos to the makers, they did a good job there. Few movies make me jump the way this one did.

While I am not a huge fan of horror movies, I would recommend this one to any horror aficionado.

6/10

This is not a poorly acted or poorly directed movie.

What it is, however, is an enterprising and unrepresentative portrayal of a very real, very terrifying portrayal of a sleep phenomenon which occurs to most of us more than others realize.

I encourage you to search "sleep paralyses" online. If you're too lazy, it typically occurs within the walls between beta sleep and delta sleep. i.e., between lying in your bed and feeling sleepy and actually falling into a deep sleep.

No demons No death No sleepwalking

This wouldn't happen in a bathtub, or sitting against a wall. Typically, you would experience paralysis when imagining someone breaking into your home, while lying in bed - in the same position you remember lying-down in.

Cheers - I suffer from this 2 or 3 times a year. I hope this is helpful. Don't be afraid - It's natural.

i don't usually wright a review, let alone a bad one, and i think if they had more money they could have done a good job but the film doesn't exceed the level of a youtube fan film!!! no need to go in detail about the dad plot, acting, general quality etc.etc. but one thing is for sure, that it doesn't worth you time.

It's predictable. It's full of clichés, and you'll see every death coming in advance. Still, the concept is pretty good. The thought of some evil force attacking you as you sleep, sounds like another famous, far better, horror movie. The monster was more subtle in appearance than Freddy Krueger. She was basically a much older version of The Ring girl. The director clearly drew inspiration from The Ring and told the actress, "You remember The Ring? Yeah, Crawl on the floor toward the camera like that!"

Dead Awake (Beware there may be spoilers) - You may want to snooze through this one. We got a good 15-20 minute nap in and we're pretty sure we missed nothing. It's amazing that the 1 million year old sleep paralysis urban legend was solved in a 4-day span. All we can take away from this movie is that if you start to believe in the power of the chest-sitting Night Hag, tag you're it. Or, turn to bright lights, highly concentrated adrenaline and caffeine to fuel your non-sleeping lifestyle, worked out great for Hassan and Mr. Pang.

The story lines and back stories were overflowing, but they didn't fit together to add to the dynamic of this film; the connection between twins, the drug history, moving back home, just to name a few. If the plots lines don't align, how can you expect to beat sleep paralysis? Verdict: you can't. Good luck Kate!

Biggest scaredy cat - Tricks. Poor thing was terrified and had to scratch it's way out of the bedroom.

Most Likely to cheer on the Toros - Jesse Bradford, aka Cliff Pantone. We are loving the man bun on ya.

Most cringe-worthy scene - Experiencing sleep paralysis while a spider dangles down from the ceiling, only to land on your open eye. No thank you.

Overall Grade: D for dead.

When I sat down to watch "Dead Awake", I didn't know what I was getting myself into, aside from it being a horror movie.

Right, well this movie was, and I kid you not, definitely not worth the time, money or effort I spent on watching it and getting to watch it.

While "Dead Awake" definitely had a very interesting concept upon which it founded its storyline and plot, it just turned out to be a horribly boring execution of the potential, and that resulted in it turning into a boring story, that was seriously lacking scares.

The movie had adequate make-up and special effects, but surely would have fared better with a bigger budget. But I don't think having better effects and make-up would actually do much in terms of salvaging the movie from sliding downhill as fast as it did because of the boring story.

"Dead Awake" had some okay acting performances delivered by an adequate cast, despite them having so very little to work with and effectively being shackled by a horrible story.

If you are in for the evening and plan on watching a horror movie, and you find yourself with the choice falling on "Dead Awake", just browse on and find something else, because this is not worth the time.

Bad acting, bad dialogue. Had some good scary moments but not enough for a full length movie. Please don't waste your time with it.

Start off by saying Dead Awake comes in on the lower budget side, so take it for what it's worth. It brings a cool idea to the horror scene, and delivers some good supernatural scares. Some of the filler scenes are cheesey, but that comes with this type of movie. I liked most of the characters, and thought the concepts of the movie were interesting. Compared to the poor quality of horror movies on Netflix, Dead Awake is pretty good. All in all, decently entertaining horror you can watch when you're in need of those fun, horror nights.

For those of you thinking this movie is a rip off of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" , you have no idea what you're talking about! It's the same concept, sure, but taken in a completely different direction! Remember those Hmong teenagers that Hassan was talking about? That actually happened! That's where Wes Craven got the idea for "NES" from! And they really did their research about the Old hag, because I've read similar stories in collections of African-American folklore, only she was called "the boo-hag"!

Yes, I heard an interview with the writer and his favorite horror movie growing up was A Nightmare on Elm Street, but damn, this wasn't an homage, it was flat-out theft and barely, BARELY, beat the other 2010 remake in quality. Literally, this was pointless with a laughable Ring-type villain and too many plot-holes to cover here. SKIP IT.