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The Stay Awake

  • 1988
  • R
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
2.6/10
353
YOUR RATING
The Stay Awake (1988)
Horror

The ghost of a serial killer, executed for murdering students at a Catholic girls' school, returns to the school to take revenge on the current student body.The ghost of a serial killer, executed for murdering students at a Catholic girls' school, returns to the school to take revenge on the current student body.The ghost of a serial killer, executed for murdering students at a Catholic girls' school, returns to the school to take revenge on the current student body.

  • Director
    • John Bernard
  • Writers
    • John Bernard
    • Johan Bernard
  • Stars
    • Shirley Jane Harris
    • Tanya Gordon
    • Jayne Hutton
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    2.6/10
    353
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Bernard
    • Writers
      • John Bernard
      • Johan Bernard
    • Stars
      • Shirley Jane Harris
      • Tanya Gordon
      • Jayne Hutton
    • 19User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos9

    The Stay Awake (1988)
    The Stay Awake (1988)
    Bart Fouche in The Stay Awake (1988)
    Bart Fouche in The Stay Awake (1988)
    Bart Fouche in The Stay Awake (1988)
    The Stay Awake (1988)
    The Stay Awake (1988)
    The Stay Awake (1988)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Shirley Jane Harris
    • Trish Walton
    Tanya Gordon
    Jayne Hutton
    Heath Porter
      Ken Marshall
      • Mr. Stark
      Lindsay Reardon
      Lindsay Reardon
      • William John Brown
      • (as Lindsey Reardon)
      Michele Carey
      Michele Carey
        Christobel D'Orthez
        Maxine John
        Heilie Oeschger
        Joanna Rowlands
        Bart Fouche
        Bart Fouche
        • Jason
        Clinton Ephron
        • Robbie
        Warren Du Preez
        • Larry
        Pierre Jacobs
        • Arnie
        Lorrain Dladla
        • Prostitute
        Dorothy Da Silva
        • Woman in flat
        Sharon Morton
        • Nurse
        • Director
          • John Bernard
        • Writers
          • John Bernard
          • Johan Bernard
        • All cast & crew
        • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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        Storyline

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        Did you know

        Edit
        • Trivia
          Final film of Michele Carey.
        • Connections
          Featured in Confessions of a Horror Baby: The Stay Awake (2010)

        User reviews19

        Review
        Review
        Featured review
        3/10
        weak killer-back-from-the-dead movie, with goofy demon costume
        I didn't find this to be nearly as bad as others have, but it isn't very good either, and certainly needn't be sought out to be watched.

        It starts well. Somewhere in America, a killer is being walked down a very white hallway, down a red carpet, to an execution chamber. This is intercut with the crime scenes of the various women he has killed. This prologue was nicely done, I thought. The killer makes threats to return to kill more women, to kill these people's children, and he claims to be the angel of darkness and speaks in a demonic voice.

        Nineteen years later, inexplicably somewhere in Europe, a group of young women are staying overnight at a girl's school doing a "stay awake" to raise funds. The killer shows up, first apparently as a poltergeist. We see shots from his POV, drifting into the school, through the hallways, as chairs move around, a picture falls from a wall, etc. This is intercut with the women doing aerobics in the gym. This scene goes on for some time. Some young men show up at the school to try to scare the women, and to hook up with them.

        It's quite a while before the killer strikes, about fifty minutes, I think. He appears both as a sort of cross between Gozilla and a giant rat with glowing red eyes and a whip-like tongue, and as himself with glowing red eyes. As the former, it's pretty silly-looking; as the latter, he's fairly creepy looking.

        There were some scenes I liked. One I recall: the women are scared by a gorilla mask which is thrown in front of them. They laugh at their fears, but when one of them picks it up she finds it to be heavier than it should be....

        The voices do seem to be strangely dubbed. As far as I could tell, the actresses were speaking English, but at least a few of the voices don't seem like they would belong to the actresses. The young women's characters aren't well differentiated from each other, nor are the young men. Frankly, it's hard to tell most of them apart even visually.
        helpful•5
        1
        • FieCrier
        • Feb 10, 2005

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        Details

        Edit
        • Release date
          • November 24, 1988 (South Africa)
        • Country of origin
          • South Africa
        • Language
          • English
        • Also known as
          • Stay Awake - Nacht des Grauens
        • Filming locations
          • South Africa
        • Production company
          • Heyns Film & Television Productions
        • See more company credits at IMDbPro

        Technical specs

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        • Runtime
          1 hour 25 minutes
        • Color
          • Color

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