Awoken

Basically a nowhere fast movie where nothing happens. A woman is worried to distraction over her brother who hasn't slept in days. Weeks, even. She fears for his life, but some - those in the know, fear for his soul. And his life. And their lives. Apparently if you don't sleep for a monthish a foreign demon gets ya. This could have been scary good, but not this time.

Average horror film with some good scares but story line isnt strong. Good performances.

Everyone in this movie seems to have trouble sleeping. "You look tired, you should go to sleep". "You need some sleep, you should stop for the day."

The concept of the film is that specialists are trying to help some people with sleep disorders (or something like that), but they're keeping them in a room brightly lit by office fluorescents 24 hours a day... But who the hell could sleep in such an environment?

The script definitely lacks realism. The film is riddled with nonsensical little details, as if no one had taken the time to revise the whole thing before launching the project. For example, when a VCR is turned off, the screen turns blue, it doesn't switch to a snowy screen (that's when a TV channel loses it's signal).

It's obvious that the actors are inexperienced, but you feel they've been given a chance, and they try their best.

The bad reviews are well-founded, but it's still a little film to watch on TV when there's nothing else on... It's not a complete failure.

For a first time director with a limited budget you can't get much better. No money for massive vfx and OTT gore so subsequently stays within its boundaries, thus uses atmospheric lighting, sinister sounds etc. Don't expect polished Blumhouse, think when they first started. Only fault, well it is padded out to a degree, could have cut twenty minutes.

Now I see many reviews that trash talk the movie, and we have to respect others' opinions, but I, as a huge horror fan can tell you it is far better than you'd expect.

The subject sleep paralysis/deprivation/demons/night terrors/ is one a tad bit less used in this genre and not exploited as much as say, slashers or zombies. So there is still some wiggle room here, parts of it that might seem new, fresh, that's why I make sure to always put an eye on such productions, see what the latest is all about. Surely enough, Awoken doesn't go too far from the subject, it's a swing and a hit I'd say, but I'm quite sure it had the potential for an out of the park kind of impact. As a horror and as a sleep deprivation movie it uses a lot of the clichees one might expect to find here, and I do believe they could have achieved a lot more if they tried a little originality as well, not just go for the sure thing.

Nevertheless, it is a decent effort, an OK movie, from the acting to directing, everything falls in place nicely. I liked it for my late night and I do recommend it to others.

Cheers!