Awoken

I had the chance to sit down and watch the 2019 movie "Awoken" here in 2020. And with the movie's cover, it being a horror movie and it being a movie I hadn't already seen, of course I found the time to sit down and watch the movie from writers Alan Grace and Daniel J. Phillips.

Well, for a horror movie, then "Awoken" was just bland. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying it is a bad movie. Not at all. The movie was actually, in fact, watchable and entertaining enough, but it was just a bland movie experience, that offered nothing new to a seasoned horror veteran such as myself.

The storyline in "Awoken" was fair enough. There were some good enough aspects to it that made it worthwhile watching. But at the same time, the storyline also had some rather mundane and generic aspects to it. Especially the predictability that lurked over the movie was just holding it down.

Now, I will say that the aspect of sleep deprivation has been used countless other times in other thrillers and horror movies, but it actually worked out well enough for the plot as written by Alan Grace and Daniel J. Phillips.

The acting in "Awoken" was good, and the actors and actresses carried the bland storyline a great long way with their individual and collective performances on the screen. I wasn't familiar with the talents in the movie, so that was definitely something that appealed to me.

For a horror movie, then the special effects used in "Awoken" were adequate. They weren't outstanding or particularly memorable, nor were they effects that make you go "wow!" I think that having made more use of high end special effects would have lifted up the overall feel of the movie in a much needed direction.

If you enjoy horror movies, give "Awoken" a chance. Mind you, this is by no means a movie that will rock your world, nor will it revolutionize the horror genre as we know it. I am rating director Daniel J. Phillips's 2019 movie a mediocre five out of ten stars. It was watchable, albeit predictable, but this is hardly a movie that will make you sit down to watch it a second time.

This film did have something about it but failed to deliver. Awoken is a pretty simply story, but in my opinion they should have kept it even more simple by losing the daft found footage stuff. It seemed like some dodgy acting from a amateur stage production and broke the movie.

Huge lack of eeriness that can easily be generated on a low budget., especially with Benson Jack Anthony who played the main character. He did a great job but could have been used to far better affect.

If they lost the daft story and concentrated on building an atmosphere and suspense. Huge opportunity missed here. Sometimes less is far more.

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.

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

This is such a refreshing change from the crop of screaming teen in a cabin kind of movies that seem to be popping out by the dozen.

The story is strong, the acting is mostly great, and the production is well thought out and implemented. There are perhaps one or two silly moments, but on the whole the movie comes together well and is a good watch.