If I Die Before I Wake (1998)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Brian Katkin

Writers:

Brian Katkin (writer)
P.J. Pettiette (story)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Pray for dawn

Plot:

A suburban family is held hostage and terrorized by three intruders while their sixteen year-old daughter first hides...

Plot Keywords:

Hostage | Intruder | Abuse | Teenage Girl | Stabbing

Cast

Stephanie Jones	...	LoriBeth
Muse Watson	...	Daryl
Michael McCleery	...	T.J
Anthony Nicosia	...	Billy
Mary Kathleen Gordon	...	Mother
John Gavagin	...	Father
Kristian Hans Horn	...	Ben
Coryanne Sennett	...	Mary
Danny Farkash	...	Neighbor #1
Tara Farkash	...	Neighbor #2

MPAA:

Rated R for strong, brutal violence including rape, unrelenting terror and strong language.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

General Productions Inc.

Best Low-budget movie I've ever seen!

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.