Review of Before I Wake (2016) by Lovro H — 09 Jul 2016

Before I start the review I'd just like to say that Before I wake is NOT a horror movie, as it was marketed as one. I went completely blind into this movie and I was very surprised! The story follows a married couple whose son, Sean, drowned.

They adopt a child, Cody, who makes his dreams come true while he's sleeping, but also his nightmares. The story itself is interesting enough to keep you entertained during the whole movie, but I love how emotional this movie was, too.

It didn't feel like a horror movie at all, more like a dark fairy tale. The scenes where the couple sees Sean at night because Cody is dreaming about him, because he saw Sean on pictures, are very emotional and I really liked how Cody doesn't dream anything he hasn't seen.

For example, the first time he saw Sean was on a family portrait, so when he dreams him for the first time, Sean is in those clothes as on the portrait and his facial expression doesn't change, nor does he say anything.

Second time, the couple shows him videos of Sean, and then he starts to dream him with a voice and movement. I found that to be really cool. The monster in his nightmare is called The Cankerman and he looks pretty creepy! I really liked his design and how he consumes his victims, but what I liked even more was how Cody thought of him.

I won't spoil this, but when the movie shows us who really is The Cankerman, it's very depressing. The acting was good overall, even the kid actors were decent, though that was to be expected since Cody is played by the same actor who played the son in Room.

The soundtrack is good and I'm still trying to find the song which plays during the credits scene... I didn't find the movie to be scary at all, although the near-ending sequence was very chilling.

All in all, a great supernatural drama which at times almost feels like a dark fairy tale. I would recommend checking this movie out, it's certainly not a waste of time.