Before I Wake

This is another of my Netflix finds.  I was awake early one morning as ironically I suffer with insomnia hence my ability to watch vast amounts of films, hold down a job (not at blockbusters for those of you who remember that) and have a social life.  

I wasn’t expecting much, and I tend to not research films before I watch them, I only really have a read about them after I have watched them.  

This film surprised me, it starts with a young boy being adopted by a couple whose own son drowned.  The boy looks plaid and comes across as shy, and the couple take to him but are obviously weighed down with the guilt of losing their own son.  

They soon find that the boy never sleeps, but not before they have a whole kaleidoscope  of butterflies turn up in their living room. 

As the film wears on it is evident that a monster turns up as the boy sleeps and absorbs people.  

This starts with him falling asleep at school and the class bully being absorbed by something which creeped even the hardened horror watcher than I am out.

Toward the end you learn that the boy is able to project his imagination and bring it to life and the monster is based on the image of his dying mother.

I thought that this film was a very clever depiction on the way in which children remember things and how it can become distorted over time.  I also thought it was a good show of how insomnia can impact you.  Now if you have never had to deal with life on only an hour and a half sleep you may not feel the same about this film as I did, but I have had days where I thought that things where happening around me which clearly were not due to sleep deprvation and I appreciated the way this film presented it. 

The filming was simple but effective and did have a feel of “Mama” or “The Orphanage” about it but on research I think it’s just an appreciation for Del Torro from the directors of this film as I could find no links to him at all. 

It’s a well constructed and slightly different horror film which is worth a watch.