Review of Before I Wake (2016) by Mad M — 12 Jan 2018

This is a refreshing horror movie done right. With no deus ex machina, no jump scares just for the sake of jump scares, no ridiculous horror genre tropes - real people, fantasy elements and artistic "monsters" /horrors that fall within the story plot line (I.e. Aren't just gratuitous monstrosities thrown in randomly to pump up the horror value). This is babadook with a kid that isn more likeable (I love Babadook btw and I know why the child was written the way he was). Unlike the babadook, this film did not choose to delve into the deeper physiological and psychological ramifications of having such little sleep for the growing child - but it was ultimately unnecessary for the film's sake- and may have just muddied up the storyline. Also I'm assuming the drowning of the couple's first child was due to a febrile seizure - though this is never explained.

I would like to applaud the filmmakers ability to make the ending a "happy" one without "fixing " everything and leaving the ending up for speculation without it leaving the viewer unsatisfied or annoyed.

****spoilers to follow*****.

As some reviewers have mentioned: there are slow grief group moments -but what others have failed to mention or see is: much of what is said, in those grief group scenes, plays out into and explains parts of the movie. Which I find to be awesomely refreshing actually- it means the dialogue is thought out and the story is written with the ending (and bigger picture) in mind. Some examples are: when the therapist talks about dreams being conversations with ourselves - and all characters in your dreams are ultimately you. Processing feelings of guilt or fear- it's normal for us to feel haunted - by our past, by our losses....what unresolved emotions are you struggling to get out?" All of these quotes ultimately help the protagonist to understand and empathize with the child- it also gives her the guidebook on how to help him, herself, and others-to atone ultimately for the loss of her husband and overcome her own selfish (albeit understandable) desires.

The reasons many viewers dislike this movie- are the same reasons I like it. It's not your average American horror movie - meant only to scare you. It's so much more- and if it's slow to some it's because it's pulling in the human element, the realistic and plausible against the seemingly implausible. It tells a story (that yes could have been fleshed out more) that comes around full circle - with the beginning scenes playing into the end; and that is very uncommon for the horror genre. I am a huge horror fan (especially supernatural horror). I am always estatic when I find a gen among the horror films instead of shaking my head in disgust at a lost opportunity. Yes this isn't a Devil's backbone or Pan's labyrinth or even as good as the Babadook. It's pretty close to Mama in story telling but of course wildly different and much more take. All in all, this movie was well executed A- to B+ that I thoroughly enjoyed. The film chi aesthetics are extremely pleasing and artisticly done. This movie is a poem or essay in loss, imagination, altruism, and resilience.

* film review typed on my phone - please excuse any errors or run on sentences. I am not able to scroll back to fix anything.