This film had so much potential. Based around a young orphaned boy - adopted by a young couple, whose dreams and nightmares become reality. Terrified to fall asleep, the young boy does everything he can to stay awake. His dreams are magical but his nightmares are spine-chilling. 

Directed by Mike Flanagan (at first my partner read this wrong and thought it was the comedian Micky Flanagan) who was the editor for the creepy Oculus and the brilliant Hush, this film sounds odd and it is exactly that. Starring Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane and Jacob Tremblay this fantasy/horror stands out from the usual supernatural motion pictures that currently exist. Starting promisingly, with the young couple adopting Cody after the devastating death of their own son, it fills you with suspense as his inner demons manifest whilst he sleeps. As the film goes on however, it gets frustrating with characters being irrationally killed with no resulting consequences. That is a pet peeve of mine with horror/drama films, when no-one seems that bothered about the death of a loved one.

Some scenes are terrifying, but like with all horror films, once you see the demon or villain they loose all sense of scariness. It's always more frightening when they are hiding in the shadows, rushing past the screen or standing in a door way and I think Before I Wake unveils the monster too quickly.

As Jessie (Kate Bosworth) becomes more and more invested in the child, she decides to try and figure out why he is the way he is. With plenty of twists and turns, this film has a brilliant cast, intriguing plot and good camera work. The ending however was a little disappointing. It does however sort of tie everything up...so I guess thats a bonus.

I didn't want to ruin too much about this movie, as I would recommend it but because its lack of follow through and average ending, I probably won't watch it again.