Note the title of this awful thriller from director Joby Harold, for it is a state few people watching the movie will be in by the end credits.
Harold has taken a truly horrifying premise - the real life phenomenon in which anaesthetised operating patients somehow remain conscious yet paralysed while their torsos are sawn open - and turned it into a film so weak a gentle breeze would carry it off.
Hayden Christensen has clearly lost his way since Revenge of the Sith.
Hayden Christensen, who has clearly lost his way since Revenge of the Sith, plays Clay Beresford, a young super rich yet also philanthropic businessman suffering from a rare heart condition that could well cut his life extremely short.
He has been expecting a heart transplant for ages but has been mysteriously held back on the waiting list.
The film progresses from one ludicrous plot development to another as Clay foregoes the chance to be operated on by one of the best surgeons in the world against everyone's advice, instead favouring a third-rate physician he has recently acquainted on the simple grounds that "I trust him".
advertisement
Of course, it is a decision he will soon regret; once anaesthetised, he finds himself paralysed and unable to move.
The film progresses from one ludicrous plot development to another.
To make matters worse, he overhears the surgeons say they are planning to kill him. He then has an outer body experience (no, I'm not making this up) and races to save himself from his fate.
Awake has a slow build up and a 20 minute window in the middle in which it is supposed to fit in the meat of thrills and spills, yet it fails miserably.
There is a brief moment, when the knife first cuts into Clay, we begin to feel unease but the technique of giving him a voice over during his paralysis just comes across as hilarious, not scary.
Instead, the thin plot is dragged out by a tediously cliched and irrelevant back story about Clay' family life.
What is more, so much of the lazily-constructed narrative falls apart with little diagnosis; it turns out that the sham doctors want to get rid of Clay for the insurance pay out.
Much of the lazily-constructed narrative falls apart with little diagnosis.
It seems they are in legal trouble after being sued for malpractice. Good idea. What better way to refute accusations of malpractice than by murdering a patient?
The performances are bad and the film's depiction of a hospital is ludicrous. All in all, it's a dreadful slice of entertainment.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
