If I Die Before I Wake (1998)

Very disappointing...

Strong and Moving!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Three scumbags love breaking into house. One of them (Muse Watson) is stone psycho.They break into a house where the family is home. The terror begins with constant beating and yelling. Only the two girls (Stephanie Jones & Coryanne Sennett) managed to hide.Jones is fantastic as the older sister trying to figure out what to do while keeping her little sister quiet.It is non stop as the thieves hunt for her and she tries everything to defeat them.No gore, and rape occurs off-camera.

This is a very disturbing Horror/Thriller that's quite suspenseful and effective, with a tense story and excellent performances!. All the characters are just great, and while the film is very engrossing it's certainly not a fun film to watch, plus Muse Watson is simply amazing in this! and Stephanie Jones is wonderful!. I didn't know what to expect from film, as it obviously sounded low budget, however I was really quite surprised by how great it was, and you will be rooting on Loribeth (Stephanie Jones), to get Daryl(Muse Watson),the sick twisted killer, for what he was doing to her family, plus it's very well made and written as well. It has tons of creepy atmosphere as a lot of the shots are set in the darkness, and I think this should be a lot higher then 5.2 in my opinion, plus I was lucky enough to find this in the DVD rental section at my video store. It's not very gory, but it is violent, as there is plenty of suggestive violence as well, and I thought the ending was extremely well done, plus Coryanne Sennett(Mary) gives one of the best child performances I have seen in a while!. This is a very disturbing Horror/Thriller that's quite suspenseful and effective, with a tense story, and excellent performances, I highly recommend this one!. The Direction is great!. Brian Katkin does a great! job here with awesome camera work, great opening shot, constantly adds creepy atmosphere and tension, and setting it in a dark creepy house with 3 maniacs just made it all that much creepier. The Acting is excellent!. Stephanie Jones is wonderful as the lead here, she was extremely likable, tough as nails, as you will be rooting her on to kill those 3 maniacs that hurt her family, I also loved how smart and resourceful she was, I saw so much potential in her,I hope she makes it big!. Muse Watson is amazing as the psycho killer, he was absolutely frightening and extremely menacing, at times he was almost campy&OTT, but he was just so frightening and heartless, he gave a memorable show. Coryanne Sennett gives one of the best child performances I have seen in a while, you will feel sorry for her, as she really did look scared ,she was fantastic!, she also had awesome chemistry with Stephanie Jones. Michael McCleery is good as the brother with a heart he did a good job. Anthony Nicosia did fine with what he had to do. Mary Kathleen Gordon&John Gavagin are great as the affected parents I felt for them both big time. Kristian Hans Horn is good as the son and did what he had to do well. Overall I highly recommend this one!. ***1/2 out of 5

Damn, this movie is so poorly made and so cheap, it loses all potential impact it could have had. Performances may be good all around, but nobody involved is able to save this turkey. Lot's of violence, but surprisingly little blood. Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left" started it all 30 years ago and the world has seen LOTS of bad Rip-Offs, but I seriously think this one is the worst. Better watch the original, of which I always tought of as a pretty good movie...

This is a low budget movie and proves not all low-budget thrillers are bad. This opens in a dark night and starts immediately with three murderers breaking into a house and terrorizing a poor suburban family. The oldest daughter now realizes this and hides herself and her little sister and decides to devise a plane to get back at the murderers. This movie is excellent, and I'll tell you why. The atmosphere. The atmosphere is so dark, right away we're aware that danger is lurking and it's hitting hard onto this poor family. The darkness and light are all in the right places providing a haunting and chilling atmosphere. For a low-budget movie The directing is great, the camera angles provide great tension and fools us alot. Which is a good point. The acting is pretty good for people that are not major hollywood actors. The main heroine is great and pretty, the villians are great, right away we learn that we have to hate these people. This movie reminded me of "The Desperate Hours" only alot more violent. Another aspect that made this movie on my favorites list is the suspense. The suspense is excellent, it's so gripping and tense. The tension is excellent. There were times where I was on the edge of my seat squirming. I could feel this girls desperation. This succeeds where most Hollywood films fail. It grips the audience by the throat and makes it heard. This is highly, highly, recommended and trust me, if you ever go to a rental store and find this on the rack, for the love of god rent it! rent it! rent it! This is great.