Cast:Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Jacob Tremblay, Annabeth Gish, Dash Mihok.

Direction:Mike Flanagan

Produced: Sam Englebardt, William D. Johnson, Trevor Macy.

Writer: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard

Genre: Horror

Duration:96 Mins*

The untimely loss of a loved one is painful. So is a poorly made horror movie. Before I Wake is less of a warning to the Hobson couple (Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane) when they adopt Cody (Jacob Tremblay) than it is to the audience who will not be fighting slumber as strongly as the little boy does in the film.

Cody is a troubled young boy who has been shunted around foster homes because some misfortune befalls each family when he is under their roof. Jessie and Mark Hobson adopt him because he is a sort of fix to help them cope with the death of their son. It helps that he is cute too. Does not help that the kid tries not to fall asleep at night. When he does, neon butterflies flutter around the house. If Cody has nightmares, the "kankerman" comes and consumes the hapless parent standing in his path. This concept seems a nod to The Nightmare on Elm Street where elements from the dream find physical manifestation in the real world. In the spirit of true parenting, Jessie and Mark do not allow the newest and most frightened member of the family into their room. "Safety in numbers" is a wasted adage on them.

The film takes forever to answer why there is a haunting at all. The resolution is very abrupt and stupid. How did Jessie figure out what she had to do? Why does Cody not confide in the couple about his problem? Is the entity haunting him out to hurt him or protect him (albeit, in a terribly misguided fashion as entities go)? Why does it cause more deaths in a household that is already experiencing grief? Why are insects flying out of the facial orifices of various apparitions? And, most importantly, why does Jessie sport a bruise on the left side of her face towards the second half?

Before I Wake suffers on so many counts - zero energy, zero cast chemistry, zero pace. For the longest time, there is no explanation provided for the strange going-ons in the household. The parents seem weirdly okay with it. Why are they okay with it? The ghostly antagonist looks like the lovechild of a naked Babadook and Freddy Krueger.

Before I Wake is possibly a badly made metaphor for terminal illness, losing a parent and accepting someone with the accompanying demons (no pun intended). You are better off without watching this somnolence-inducing drama.