The Awakening

I, like several others, decided to watch this movie because on Netflix it has a 4 star (or almost 4 star) rating. I must have gotten this movie confused with another movie for which I saw commercials a few years back that looked interesting. This movie has a weak plot, sub-standard acting and chintzy special effects. It's not that bad if it's a student film, but if this film is considered to be "professional" then these guys should be out of work right about now. It's very difficult to actually get connected to or care about the fate of the characters because there is no character development. There are no explanations and it appears that the "God" or "Demon" antagonist of the film only wants to kill and kill and kill for no reason. This film ALMOST has a zombie-like flavor to it in that the malevolent entity is passed from one person to another and then it turns around and kills as many people as possible.

This thriller of an independent film has a little bit of everything.

"The Awakening" was well executed on many levels. The first thing that I noticed was the film's look. The cinematography looked good with a good amount of contrast without being overbearing and a wide variety of shots. Most of the film was shot relatively unsaturated which gave it a slightly grey, uneasy color. Juxtaposing the unsaturated look with the more vivid, friendlier moments helped build the desired suspense.

Editing for "The Awakening" was a bit unusual, out of the mainstream, with cutting that I can only describe as a hybrid of Edgar Wright movies ("Hot Fuzz," "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World") and television sitcom "Scrubs." This created almost a throwback film but with a new age feel that was different without being abrupt.

The movie's subject matter will likely affect some people's interest. The film is definitely geared towards a younger audience. It does include swearing and mildly graphic imagery which won't deter most youth. This isn't the kind of film you would want to take your grandmother to, or, in some cases, your mother. It is a strong 17 to 30 film which can reach beyond that age group.

The plot worked around a demon/god possession concept which Rotonda and Schaefer take beyond the cliché exorcism films.

The acting in the film was well executed with the majority of the cast delivering strong, natural performances. The chemistry between Donovan (Brian Schaefer) and Amanda (Emersen Riley) was great as their characters' relationship progressed in an unforced way. Also the character of Roy (Kevin Lowe) played a funny and hapless protagonist throughout the film. Lowe's facial expressions alone could tell a story.

The soundtrack was another highlight of this film; the music fit the story progression with a great alternative rock sound.

Overall the film delivered on all the levels to be expected. Its foundation was strong with plenty of background information. It is good, and if you're a fan of indie films, I suggest you get the chance to see it.

A group of LA twenty-somethings are lured out of the city and out into the wilderness in search of a rave...

This film has possibly the lowest rating of any film I have seen in a long time. For whatever reason, Netflix suggested it to me with a very high probability of my liking it. But I knew in the first two minutes that it was a bad movie. Thanks, Netflix.

The volume of speech versus music is obnoxious, the plot is terrible until the second half. In fact, the first half spends a good deal of time focusing on a rave that nobody care about. The special effects are nothing to brag about (and the film almost could have been better if they never used any effects at all). I was hoping the old, grainy look would add atmosphere... but it did not.

Failure, failure, failure.

Netflix lured me in with the description of a character driven thriller and a 4.5 star rating. Sounded right up my alley, however it turned out to be too low budget for me to watch.

I like indie films just fine, but this one is on the level of a student film, and an average one at that.

I'll give them credit for trying to create hip banter between the protagonists, however there are just too many issues with the quality of the production to get past the first 10 minutes.

Poor acting Clichéd dialog Poor sound (music too loud, dialog too low) Choppy editing

One character in particular that is supposed to be menacing is completely unconvincing and just comes off like an overweight doofus.

I cannot recommend this movie.

I feel bad slagging this film. It's like badmouthing a grammar school play. This is not a real movie. It's cheap digital video with poor production values and sub-sub-par acting. Somehow this is appearing as a recommended film on netflix. And it has a 4+ star review rating there. It is artificially inflated. I warn you not to bother. Not because it's terrible, but because it's not a movie. It's someone's goofy little project.

As I said, I feel bad slagging it. But I chose to do so because I felt cheated by Netflix for recommending this to me. One might come to the conclusion that there is "fishy business" going on in the over-inflated review scores on netflix.

It's not a bad movie, in fact, it's not a movie at all. Don't bother.

And one more time - don't bother