6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A funeral parlor employee looks to unravel a 10-year-old mystery.
Starring: Nick Stahl, Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, Ben Marten, Kim GrimaldiThriller | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Romance | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (256 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's better to be late in this life than early in the next.
Dead Awake is a good low-budget picture that strives to find meaning in its story that speaks on the importance of life even in the tragic wake
of death. Director Omar Naim's (The Final Cut) picture more often succeeds than it fails, despite his somewhat wishy-washy heavy stylization
that only seems to hinder rather than help the film, not to mention giving off a "trying too hard" vibe that comes off as just too dark and too gritty.
Still, Dead Awake -- stylish faux pas
aside -- ends up as a smart and thought-provoking picture that's probably best categorized as a Supernatural Thriller but that really works better as a
dark
Drama that centers on the human condition, man's ability to overcome the past, understand death, and from it find a new bearing in and appreciation
for life, both in his own and in that of others. It's certainly not the best film in this category, but the story bears out a genuine heart and sense of
purpose,
and the excellent cast pulls it
together and meshes it into a finely-tuned final product that's both well worth a watch and ripe for post-screening discussion.
Dylan looks back on his life.
Dead Awake's 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer delivers a gritty and overwhelming dark image. Sourced from what appears to be a 16mm print and obviously filmed on a low budget, Dead Awake looks about as good as it source material allows, which places it below the average studio release in terms of raw eye candy sort of appeal. Black crush is a constant problem throughout, though considering just how dark a picture Director Omar Naim paints, it's hard to find too much fault in this area. When it's not slathered in darkness, Dead Awake favors a cold, gray color scheme that reveals a heavily faded texture, with a handful of scenes almost appearing as if black and white. The image is slathered in a heavy amount of grain, so no unwanted noise reduction has been applied here. Details are solid when the darkness fades away; everything from facial textures to the lines on bedsheets are nicely reveled. The image suffers through a few bouts of heavy white speckling, but generally, the heavy and natural grain is all that's swirling around the frame. Dead Awake isn't exactly a pretty movie, but Millenium's Blu-ray release isn't too bad considering the overwhelmingly bleak source with which it has to work.
Dead Awake comes alive on Blu-ray with a healthy Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's fairly representative of the average low-budget Thriller/Chiller/Drama sort of track, delivering a solid but not necessarily memorable listen that offers a robust low end, good clarity, effective surround use, and steady dialogue. The film opens with a haunting, foreboding tenor that culminates with a car crash that's expertly handled off to the left side of the soundstage; the heavy crash followed by the hissing of slowly released gasses is nicely done. The film employs various hard, Horror-style cues and effects throughout, making fine use of the subwoofer and the surround channels to deliver a fairly encompassing experience. Various additional sound effects -- even the obligatory downpour and distant booming thunder -- lack the crystal-clear real-life transparency that come with the top-tier tracks, but this lossless presentation is effective as a well-constructed budget mix that's satisfying at every turn.
All that's included is the Dead Awake trailer (1080p, 1:31) and previews for additional Millenium releases.
Dead Awake isn't quite as good as it should be -- the direction and visual style are both a little too overwhelming and the plot is occasionally too confused and uncertain of what, exactly, the movie is -- but beyond those lie a fine story of finding life in the wake of death, whether that death is real or imagined. Backed up by several strong performances, including two standout efforts by Nick Stahl and Rose McGowan, Dead Awake winds up being a fine little movie, one of those under-the-radar buried treasures that, even if it could use some refinement, still makes for a rewarding experience in its final state. Millenium's Blu-ray release of Dead Awake features a serviceable 1080p transfer and a good lossless soundtrack but no extras. This release is easily worth a rental, but, considering the absence of any real extra content, fans and collectors might want to wait for a drop in price before picking it up.
2019
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Scre4m
2011
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R-rated Extended Cut
2002
1973
Limited Edition | After Dark Horrorfest
2006