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Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Before I Wake’ will keep you wide awake

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Waking up from a terrible dream is one of the worst feelings in the world.  But what if you start living someone else’s nightmare?

Jessie and Mark Hobson’s grief over their son’s death is taking a toll on their relationship.  To save their marriage, they adopt Cody, an eight-year-old child who lost his mother to cancer.  Sweet and intelligent, Cody has one major quirk – he does everything he can to avoid falling asleep.

Child actor Jacob Tremblay plays Cody, a foster child whose dreams become reality, but his nightmares are deadly and manifest in real life

Jessie and Mark soon discover that Cody’s dreams manifest physically when he sleeps.  One night, Cody dreams of their deceased son, Sean, and the latter appears right before their eyes.  The couple tries to create a more complete picture of Sean in Cody’s mind so they can enjoy Sean’s presence when Cody dreams of him.  But there’s another figure that torments Cody in his sleep, and Jessie and Mark are helpless in keeping this monster from coming to life.  

“The horror of Before I Wake is borne of the souls of its characters,” says director/co-writer/editor Mike Flanagan who made his mark in the horror genre with his multi-awarded 2005 film, Oculus.  “This is really a bedtime story for grownups complete with its own boogie man.”  

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Flanagan collaborated with Jeff Howard, his writing partner for 13 years now, to create the story.  While thinking of some never before seen horror elements, they realized that “with their imaginary friends and make-believe boogie man, no one is a better horror writer than a child.”  Flanagan adds, “I knew we had something that had to be further developed.”

Kate Bosworth and a child actor in “Before I Wake”

Just like their usual practice, Flanagan and Howard spent months of walking around and talking through all of their ideas, created a very intensive outline, and locked themselves away for five days to get the script written.   

The end result is “a cerebral thriller,” according to executive producer Scott Lumpkin who worked with Flanagan in Oculus.  

Joining Lumpkin in producing Before I Wake is Mali Elfman who commends Flanagan’s and Howard’s fear-inducing abilities.  He says, “What they do so well is not just the boo factor that makes you jump out of your seat but they create a fearful uneasiness and discomfort that causes you to sink way down in your seat which is a lot more psychologically frightening than the boos.”

Because of the powerful script, producer Trevor Macy says it was easier to get their chosen actors, such as Kate Bosworth, on board.  He says, “We are very fortunate that she wanted to so strongly embrace this role, her first as a mother.  She brings some very powerful maternal instincts to her role as Cody’s mother.”  

Bosworth played the iconic Lois Lane in Superman Returns.  Critics dubbed her as America’s Next Sweetheart for her performance in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton.  

Kate Bosworth and young actor Jacob Temblay in a scene from fantasy horror film

As for his role as Mark, Thomas Jane “brought this real sort of coolness to Mark as Cody’s dad,” says Lumpkin.  “We wanted him based on some of the beautiful work he has done not only in films such as 61 and The Mist but also for his ability to take smaller roles in films like Thin Red Line and Boogie Nights and make them so memorable,” says Flanagan.  

Himself a fan of Flanagan, Jane says that the former is “very much like Alfred Hitchcock in that he is very precise in how he sets up shots. He really takes care of the story elements visually.  As a writer he has this gift for exorcising and overcoming our universal fears and horrors. He knows how to hold back and then really fill in the blanks.”

Majority of the film relies on the performance of the child actor playing Cody, so when the filmmakers saw the self-made audition tape of seven-year-old Jason Tremblay, they just had to cast him at once.

 “That tape blew us away,” exclaims Lumpkin. “Jacob, who is very much like a younger Hailey Joel Osment, is going to be the next ‘it’ kid.   Jacob and those big eyes just perform so much,” said Elfman. Flanagan added, “This kid is genuinely good and just exudes that. He understands complicated scenes way beyond his age.”  

Jane also praises the boy who plays his son. “He is an amazing little actor. He will steal the movie.  They say don’t do movies with kids or animals but if you are going to do a movie with a kid do it with a kid as good as Jacob,” he says.

Distributed by VIVA International Pictures and MVP Entertainment, Before I Wake opens in cinemas on June 29.  Don’t miss this chance to meet Cody.  He will make Annabelle seem like an angel.

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