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Stay Awake

Original title: The Stay Awake
  • 1988
  • R
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
2.6/10
396
YOUR RATING
Stay Awake (1988)
B-HorrorSupernatural HorrorDramaHorror

The ghost of a serial killer, executed for murdering students at a Catholic girls' school, returns to the school to take revenge on the current student body.The ghost of a serial killer, executed for murdering students at a Catholic girls' school, returns to the school to take revenge on the current student body.The ghost of a serial killer, executed for murdering students at a Catholic girls' school, returns to the school to take revenge on the current student body.

  • Director
    • John Bernard
  • Writers
    • John Bernard
    • Johan Bernard
  • Stars
    • Shirley Jane Harris
    • Tanya Gordon
    • Jayne Hutton
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    2.6/10
    396
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Bernard
    • Writers
      • John Bernard
      • Johan Bernard
    • Stars
      • Shirley Jane Harris
      • Tanya Gordon
      • Jayne Hutton
    • 19User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos7

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    Top cast29

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    Shirley Jane Harris
    • Trish Walton
    Tanya Gordon
    Jayne Hutton
    Heath Porter
      Ken Marshall
      • Mr. Stark
      Lindsay Reardon
      Lindsay Reardon
      • William John Brown
      • (as Lindsey Reardon)
      Michele Carey
      Michele Carey
        Christobel d'Ortez
          Maxine John
          Heilie Oeschger
          Joanna Rowlands
          Bart Fouche
          Bart Fouche
          • Jason
          Clinton Ephron
          • Robbie
          Warren Du Preez
          • Larry
          Pierre Jacobs
          • Arnie
          Lorrain Dladla
          • Prostitute
          Dorothy Da Silva
          • Woman in flat
          Sharon Morton
          • Nurse
          • Director
            • John Bernard
          • Writers
            • John Bernard
            • Johan Bernard
          • All cast & crew
          • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

          User reviews19

          2.6396
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          Featured reviews

          2benjaminryder-45940

          Like A Bad Dream

          You definitely won't want to stay awake for The Stay Awake. While it looks and sounds like a real movie and there's clearly some sort of budget behind this movie (even if it is small), there's not a single interesting character or set piece in the entire film. I just saw this movie last night and I'm already having a hard time remembering anything about it. I believe there was some sort of monster surrounded by fog and glowing eyes (but usually represented via Evil Dead-esque swirly cam), I'm pretty sure there were a bunch of girls staying inside their school for the night, and I believe there's a female gym teacher thrown in there, too. Ask me anything else and I'll be at a loss.

          Why anyone felt the need to greenlight this script is a mystery. This one is rough and not even in a fun "so bad, it's good" kind of way. Save your sanity and skip it.
          Wizard-8

          Stay awake? You won't

          Before Nu Image made a name for itself by making and distributing high-quality straight-to-video movies, they were known for making and distributing junk like this. "Stay Awake" may not be the worst horror movie, but it would probably be high on a list of the most BORING movies. After the execution scene at the beginning of the movie (supposedly taking place in America, though you see South African license plates), just about nothing of real consequence happens for the next forty or so minutes! And what does eventually happen is not worth the wait, with slaughter sequences that are tame in gore and blood, and directed with as little passion as you can imagine. There isn't even any gratuitous nudity! The characters are thin and all alike in nature, and there are a bunch of unanswered questions like how the spirit of an executed serial killer could cross an ocean - and WHY he would do this. There is no possible reason to seek out and watch this movie.
          1abrltw

          Birthdate incorrect

          Michele Lee Henson aka Michele Carey was born in 1942.

          Also, one screen credit is missing, a comedy from May 15th, 1974. It was a three part comedy show on NBC. She played Lisa Sprague opposite of Richard Mulligan. Lisa was a ghost who comes back to haunt her cheating husband. The series was short called NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies.

          Lastly, Michele was not in the film The Stay Awake. Michelle Carey is an English actress.
          3FieCrier

          weak killer-back-from-the-dead movie, with goofy demon costume

          I didn't find this to be nearly as bad as others have, but it isn't very good either, and certainly needn't be sought out to be watched.

          It starts well. Somewhere in America, a killer is being walked down a very white hallway, down a red carpet, to an execution chamber. This is intercut with the crime scenes of the various women he has killed. This prologue was nicely done, I thought. The killer makes threats to return to kill more women, to kill these people's children, and he claims to be the angel of darkness and speaks in a demonic voice.

          Nineteen years later, inexplicably somewhere in Europe, a group of young women are staying overnight at a girl's school doing a "stay awake" to raise funds. The killer shows up, first apparently as a poltergeist. We see shots from his POV, drifting into the school, through the hallways, as chairs move around, a picture falls from a wall, etc. This is intercut with the women doing aerobics in the gym. This scene goes on for some time. Some young men show up at the school to try to scare the women, and to hook up with them.

          It's quite a while before the killer strikes, about fifty minutes, I think. He appears both as a sort of cross between Gozilla and a giant rat with glowing red eyes and a whip-like tongue, and as himself with glowing red eyes. As the former, it's pretty silly-looking; as the latter, he's fairly creepy looking.

          There were some scenes I liked. One I recall: the women are scared by a gorilla mask which is thrown in front of them. They laugh at their fears, but when one of them picks it up she finds it to be heavier than it should be....

          The voices do seem to be strangely dubbed. As far as I could tell, the actresses were speaking English, but at least a few of the voices don't seem like they would belong to the actresses. The young women's characters aren't well differentiated from each other, nor are the young men. Frankly, it's hard to tell most of them apart even visually.
          3shazbat69

          Embarrassed to admit this but ......

          ..... I played the dead nurse at the beginning of this film LOL.

          It was a long long time ago but it was fun to be involved in :) I never actually saw the full film until recently, so I don't think I will be recommending it to my kids!

          "The acting is terrible; it's so bad that even the accent of the main actresses is horrible. The situations are slow and boring. There's little action in the movie but it's so cheesy that you can't tell if it's intended to be funny. The demon is laughable! those red eyes are pathetic. The serial killer ghost suddenly appears and tells things about darkness and it's power."

          I agree with the rest of the reviews too - rubbish!

          But it's nice to see yourself on film, even if it's just as a body half buried in the bushes LOL.

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          Storyline

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          Did you know

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          • Trivia
            Final film of Michele Carey.
          • Connections
            Featured in Confessions of a Horror Baby: The Stay Awake (2010)

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          FAQ14

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          Details

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          • Release date
            • November 24, 1988 (South Africa)
          • Country of origin
            • South Africa
          • Language
            • English
          • Also known as
            • Stay Awake - Nacht des Grauens
          • Filming locations
            • South Africa
          • Production company
            • Heyns Film & Television Productions
          • See more company credits at IMDbPro

          Tech specs

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          • Runtime
            • 1h 25m(85 min)
          • Color
            • Color

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