2024 For God’s Sake Wake Her Up

• Directed by: Wayne Moreheart
• Written by: James Justin Howells
• Stars: Sarah Crawfod, Mamie Kakimoto, Queen Legend
• Run Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes
• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaICeHfS38E

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

Two young women wandering the city after avoiding one of their mother’s funeral stumble on another woman who is suffering from a severe case of recurring sleep paralysis. They slowly learn it’s not just a simple medical condition. We both agree, it’s a slow moving one but was very good.

Spoilery Synopsis

We open on a videotape of April talking about her sleep paralysis; she’s afraid it’s going to kill her. We then watch it happen as credits roll.

We watch as Rizz and Myles walk along the train track past the landfill. They admire the graffiti and then stop to steal some beer. They don’t really like beer, but it’s fun to steal it. They argue about not going to the funeral; Rizz’s mother has recently died, and she has regrets. Myles cheers her up.

The two soon wind up in the bad part of town and bump into April. Who is walking around like a sleep-deprived zombie.

April goes home to her neglected-looking house. She watches another videotape; she says she hasn’t slept more than an hour in weeks. She’s recording all this before “he takes me.” “This is my final tape,” she explains “I am the end of the line.”

Rizz and Myles wander around through the bad neighborhood, and Rizz decides to go into one of the houses there. Why? Because!

Inside, Rizz starts digging through the stuff and finds April’s video camera and TV. She plays the tape and watches as April explains her problem. There are a lot of tapes. They go upstairs and find April in bed, apparently in some kind of seizure. Rizz wants to help the old woman, but Myles just wants to get out of there before the police get them for breaking in.

Myles tries to leave but something keeps her from opening the door. Rizz has a feeling that the answer lies in that stack of videotapes. “The entity” took April’s grandmother and her mother as well; now it’s her turn. April has no children, so she expects this will all end with her.

Meanwhile, Myles tries to break a window with a stool, but the entity rips the stool right out of her hands. Rizz insists on helping April, who told her the answers are all in the tapes. The tapes are very repetitive and not especially interesting. Finally, Myles cuts the power cord. Now, Rizz reads through April’s “crazy book” and reads it. It’s all about sleep-demons, and people have died from it before.

Rizz and Myles argue, again. Meanwhile, April is terrorized by the entity. The entity opens the door and lets Myles out, but then it won’t open again. She runs off to charge her phone and call for help. No– the entity breaks her neck and kills her, then drags the body away. Rizz freaks out until the entity drags her away as well.

Rizz watches the rest of the tapes. April explains that the entity is an ancient, primeval thing that kills people in their sleep, an incubus. The voice from the TV helps Rizz translate the words from the book. The entity finally shows up in the real world and attacks Rizz, who reads the words out loud just in time.

The sun rises outside, and April wakes up. Everyone is happy now, except for Myles, who is still dead. “We carry the bad things until they eat us up,” April narrates. We look out the window and see Rizz walking away holding the demon’s hand…

Brian’s Commentary

It’s got a tiny cast and obviously a tiny budget as well. Still, it’s well-shot and looks really good. April’s accent makes it hard to follow at times, and this is a problem because she’s the one who does most of the talking and explaining here.

It’s a story about guilt and personal trauma, and a sleep demon as well. It’s awfully slow-paced but good otherwise.

Kevin’s Commentary

This was really low budget with a cast of five, and they made the most of it. It’s just gripping enough to pull you along with the script, cast, and direction all working well together. It’s really slow moving, and low on action, but I was never bored watching it. I’d give it a thumbs up overall.