Flanagan relies heavily on jump-scares. Brooding silences punctuated by loud crashes, bangs and demons in the background. It is all too predictable for horror buffs. The disturbed kid syndrome was played up to good effect in Babadook, The Ring and of course classic horror like Exorcist. But what we get here is a thin stew instead of a hearty brew. This is at best, cookie-cutter horror that joins the dots, fine, but it doesn't dish out anything memorable.

If horror is your game, give Before I Wake a try. Even if the narrative does not impress you, the insight into a young child’s creative mind will definitely leave you amazed. Besides, the ‘Canker Man’ is unlike any ghost you may have seen before. 

If you're a true blue horror fan and want something scary, look elsewhere. Or just watch the Babadook again.Otherwise you would have most definitely wasted 137 minutes of you life. And a few hundred rupees that would come to use at the end of the month.