Taglines: Fear your dreams.
A frightened man with a gun enters a child’s room nervously. He looks around as if looking for something that he expects to reveal itself in the shadows, then a sudden commotion makes him pull the trigger. The gunfire awakens the child and the man breaks down in tears. Later, Jessie and Mark Hobson adopt a new foster child, eight-year-old Cody Morgan, after their young son Sean dies from accidentally drowning in the bathtub. They soon find out that Cody’s dreams become reality, but his nightmares are quite deadly.
On his first night, the couple are amazed as multicolored butterflies flutter across the living room, emitting a strong glow. Mark tries to capture a blue butterfly to show to Cody, as the boy likes butterflies. However, Cody wakes up and the butterflies disappear. The following day at school, he befriends a girl and antagonizes a mean kid. At home, Cody asks Mark who the child in the picture is, and Mark replies that he is their dead son, Sean. Cody answers that his mom is dead, too.
That night, the couple see their deceased child and try to hug him. When Cody wakes up, Sean disappears. Upon discovering Cody’s gift, Jessie takes advantage of it. She lets Cody watch home videos of Sean and, that night, the couple once again sees their beloved child. Days later, Mark notices the addiction that his wife has found and accuses her of abusing Cody for his gift instead of loving him. An argument ends with Mark taking down the pictures of Sean.
Cody falls asleep at school, and a nightmarish creature that Cody calls “the Canker Man” appears before the mean kid, as the girl he’s befriended watches in horror. Meanwhile, Jessie goes to a doctor and complains that her foster child has trouble sleeping; the doctor prescribes medication. She mixes it with his drink, unbeknownst to her husband.
That night Sean once again appears before them but turns into a nightmare. Mark attempts to wake Cody up but can not. Jessie confesses that she drugged the boy. The nightmare creature devours Mark as Jessie is thrown across the room and falls unconscious. She wakes up with Cody on the phone calling 911 for help. Suspecting domestic violence and that the boy has been drugged, social services takes Cody away.
Before I Wake (also known as Somnia) is a 2016 American dark fantasy horror film directed and edited by Mike Flanagan and co-written by Flanagan and Jeff Howard.[3] The film stars Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Jacob Tremblay, Annabeth Gish, and Dash Mihok.
Filming commenced on November 11, 2013, in Fairhope, Alabama.[8][9][10] On December 12, 2013, the crew filmed scenes at Barton Academy.[11] Filming completed on December 16, 2013.[8][9] The music was composed by Danny Elfman and The Newton Brothers.[12]
Release
On April 4, 2014, Relativity Media acquired the US distribution rights to the film. The film was originally scheduled to be released on May 8, 2015, but was pushed back to September 25, 2015, and later pulled from the schedule due to the company’s filing for bankruptcy. The film was rescheduled to April 8, 2016,[14] and then rescheduled to September 9, 2016. It was then pulled from the schedule.
In June 2016, it was announced that the film would screen at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July. The film had its North American premiere there on July 31, 2016, while still being distributed by Relativity Media. Excluding the United States, Netflix released the movie worldwide on April 28, 2017. In December 2017, it was revealed that Netflix had obtained United States rights to the film from Relativity Media, thus owning worldwide rights. Netflix released the film in the U.S. on January 5, 2018.
Before I Wake
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Annabeth Gish, Kate Bosworth, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Scottie Thompson, Dash Mihok, Kyla Deaver, Avis-Marie Barnes, Aurora Blue, Ginger McNamara
Screenplay by: Mike Flanagan, Jeff Howard
Production Design by: Patricio M. Farrell
Cinematography by: Michael Fimognari
Film Editing by: Mike Flanagan
Costume Design by: Lynn Falconer
Set Decoration by: Tim Pope
Music by: Danny Elfman, The Newton Brothers
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violent content and terror including disturbing images.
Studio: Relativity Media
Release Date: September 9, 2016
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