If I Die Before I Wake

I have to admit, I had second thoughts after renting this one, but I said what the hell. I was really surprised at how this movie turned out. The drama picked up really early on, and didn't let up at all until the very end. You don't have to sit through a bunch of love scenes or stupid s**t like that, just jumps right into the action. Yeah, some might call this a "girl power" movie, but who's complaining? Nothing wrong with that to me. Some of LoriBeth's actions I question, being in that situation, but hey, it's a movie for crying out loud!! Really good flick.

I didn't have any high expectations when I rented this, but figured it was worth a shot. And indeed, "If I Die Before I Wake" was a surprise. There were some flaws, but overall, this was a very tense film.

The movie opens only minutes before the carnage begins. It is night, and we see the mother and father of the house in their room, the mother asleep, the father dozing off over a book. Their son, Ben, is on the computer and listening to some music. Their younger daughter Mary is asleep, and across from her, their older daughter Lori Beth is, too. Then a handful of robbers break in. Lori Beth is the first to realize, and thinking quick, hides herself and her sister, but it is too late for the rest of the family, who are held captive and terrorized. It is up to Lori Beth to try to escape with Mary, but she soon realizes the only escape is to fight back....

Indeed, the plot is somewhat familiar. "Last House on the Left," "I Spit On Your Grave, "House By the Lake" aka "Death Weekend," "The Desperate Hours," and so on and so forth, all have similar elements. But "If I Die Before I Wake" doesn't steal from them as much as one would think it would. In fact, this film has some fairly original and interesting ideas, and above all, it maintains quite a bit of tension, from beginning to end.

Clocking in at only 77 minutes, this movie wastes no time, and surprisingly enough, that may be its biggest flaw. We don't know anything about any of these characters, and only grow to worry about the family. When the film first begins, and the robbers break in, we have no emotion towards any of the characters involved. If ten or fifteen minutes were taken to establish characters, as well as the robbers/killers/lunatics' motive, at least the night of terror, so to speak, would have evoked more emotions early on. Instead, the characters are one-dimensional, and we never even learn the names of the parents!

The film makes up for its weak points with a good amount of tension and excitement. Also, it's a surprisingly violent and disturbing movie. There's quite a deal of violent content, including rape, which is more than you'd expect from a direct-to-video low-budgeter obviously shelved for a little while before being released. (Found this in the New Release section of Blockbuster.) And a lot of what Lori Beth goes through and resorts to is logical and I always seemed to agree with her plan. I particularly liked her desperate attempt to contact someone off the Internet (but don't miss the cheap rip-off version of AOL called American Chat that she logs onto, it's pretty bad). It was an interesting idea, because yes, she could get in contact with someone, but they probably wouldn't help her. Smart idea.

In fact, despite overall weak characterization, Stephanie Jones did a lot with Lori Beth's character. She conveyed a great deal of emotion, and she was a very strong character and a terrific heroine. On the other hand, in the other starring role, Muse Watson as lead baddie Daryl was over the top, and I wasn't impressed. He's slightly more menacing here than in "I Know What You Did Last Summer," but a better actor would have done much more with the role. Imagine Robert DeNiro in his role. Now that would be scary.

For a better version of this, try Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (see my review). It's a Dutch film (with subtitles) about a family (mother,father, son, dog) taken hostage at their secluded vacation home by two subtly disturbing teenage boys, who proceed with psychological warfare on the family, daring them to survive until 9:00 the next morning. It's an absolutely terrifying movie, and brilliantly made. I recommend it.

Overall, I still recommend "If I Die Before I Wake," too. It's tense, it's scary, and it pulls a few unexpected punches. With more exposition of the characters, and a minute or two longer of an ending (I felt there could have been a little more to it before the credits rolled), this would be an excellent movie. Still, it's very well done. Check it out.

This was one of the most suspenseful direct-to-video thrillers I have seen in quite a while.

The movie starts off with three intruders breaking into a house while the family sleeps and picks up wonderfully from there.

If I Die Before I Wake, was one of those films where the situation could happen to anybody and that's where it's appeal comes from. This movie centers around a teenage girl living in the house and how she deals with whats going on. Her main focus are to of course, get out of the house, keep herself and little sister hidden, and to protect her family who are meanwhile being tortured and beaten.

The movie had a great load of suspense for the first twenty minutes but then winds down as the lead character is forced with split-second decisions. However, the end sequences pick up with intensity leading to a hard-hitting climax.

The acting was especially good with the teenage girl comparable to Marilyn from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

There wasn't much violence or gore so don't rent this looking for a massacre. Do rent this though if you want to be thrilled and at the edge of your seat. 6/10

For a movie that plunges into its thin story without introducing any characters, motives, or the scene, If I Die actually manages to create an air of dread from the start, but unfortunately tapers off to a conventional ending.

If I Die Before I Wake has a simple shoestring plot - three redneck burglars break into a suburban home and hold the family hostage, torturing them. In fact, they are tortured for the first third of the movie (the runtime is 72 minutes), and its quite a disturbing bevy of screams and pleading from the family that is successful in building a nightmarish tension.

From then on, we follow daughter Stephanie Jones as she maneuvers (sometimes incredulously) past and hides from their captors. While the script consists of routine dialogue and sometimes monotonous reworkings of Jones eluding her tormentors, it often surprises with the unexpected deaths of some major characters and one chillingly scripted scene in which one of the burglars peruses around with the little girl, mimicking the actions of her father from the home videos they are watching in the living room.

Director Katkin partially succeeds in delivering a cheap but genuinely creepy horror film in the first half by wallowing in torture and masochism, he missteps from then on last and falls prey to script conventions. Still, If I Die Before I Wake is worth a look if only for the unflinching terror inflicted on the innocent suburban family.

6 out of 10

I'm still holding my breath from this outstanding thriller!! What a fantanstic job Brian Katkin did in this sleeper hit. I can't rememeber how long it has been since a movie scared me. This one gets your attention from the start and never lets up. I actually considered turning it off about half way through because I was that horrified. I wasn't sure if I could take much more of the terror! I certainly was glad that I didn't. Katkin shows that a great scare can still be done without expensive "tricks" of computer effects. This is just a well done, good old fashion journey into fear. It is directed as good as the best of the best thrillers!

What helps make this so believable is this a crime that could happen to any of us at any time! I don't want to ruin anything by revealing the story. Just lock your windows and doors and allow yourself to let the movie take you for a ride. You'll be rewarded with a adrenaline pumping thrill as good as anything I have ever experienced. And I have to mention that Stephanie Jones was incredible. She does a 10 plus job of acting. She allows us to feel the horror she feels through the entire film. Also, the camera work was some of the best I've seen in this genre. It captures the fear perfectly, constanting taking us to the edge.

If you like a good scare, don't miss this one.