Before I Wake

Haunt, of course, is a euphemism, for this creature inspired by Munch's Scream generates all but a few giggles.

The VFX is magical but the entire treatment lacks vision and fire. As a result the 'scares' are never fully realized. This one promises much more than it can deliver!

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 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.

I abhor the use of phones in theatres but even I couldn't help reaching out for mine a couple of times. I yawned too. A lot. Let's say, the film thankfully ended just before I woke.

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.