Dead Awake (2001 film)

Last updated

Dead Awake
Dead Awake poster.jpg
Poster
Directed byMarc S. Grenier
Written byTerry Abrahamson
Produced by
  • Joanne Forgues
  • Marc S. Grenier
  • Avi Lerner
    (executive producer)
  • Martha Fernandez
    (line producer)
Starring
CinematographyDavid Franco
Edited by Yvann Thibaudeau
Music by E.P. Bergen
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • November 6, 2001 (2001-11-06)
Running time
98 minutes [1] [2]
CountriesCanada, U.S.
LanguageEnglish
Budget C$4.2 million

Dead Awake (also released as Dead of the Night) [1] is a 2001 black comedy thriller [3] television film directed by Marc S. Grenier and starring Stephen Baldwin, Macha Grenon and Michael Ironside.

Contents

Synopsis

Stephen Baldwin in 2008 Stephen Baldwin LF.jpg
Stephen Baldwin in 2008

Marketing executive Desmond Caine (Stephen Baldwin) is stricken with a bizarre form of insomnia, spending his nights walking the city's dangerous streets at night. Caine ends up at a local deli where he encounters some unusual characters: a nice, if bit lost, young woman (Macha Grenon) and a slightly deranged man who looks homeless (Michael Ironside), and an anti-social policeman.

During one of his half-hallucinogenic journeys, Caine witnesses a brutal murder. He finds the victim's watch and goes to the police. Returning to the scene, there is no sign of the crime.

Stranger still, Caine's girlfriend (Maxim Roy) is completely unaware that he gets up at night and wanders the city, while his personal assistant (Janet Kidder) seems to know all about his exploits. The police discover that the murdered man was connected to Caine's girlfriend; no longer only a witness, he is now the prime suspect...

Michael Ironside in 2009 Michael Ironside December 2009 (cropped).jpg
Michael Ironside in 2009

Cast


Production

Background

Locomotion Films, part of the Montreal Exponent Group, comprising commercial houses La Fabrique d'Images and S.W.A.T Films, and post and digital effects house Buzz Image Group, was officially launched in 1999 with a view to develop English and French-track feature films, television series, and dramatic shorts. Director and co-producer Marc S. Grenier said he and his colleagues were ready "to do something entirely serious", moving into fiction after working many years in commercials (Grenier directed the 1999 Cinequest Films entry Cause of Death, and the 1998 Motion International television movie Fatal Affair). [3] Dead Awake was made for television, [4] and was Locomotion's second feature production for the year 2000 with a budget of $4.2 million. [3] [4]

Writing

The screenplay was written by Chicago-based Terry Abrahamson. [3] Two working titles for the film were Wild Awake and Dead of Night. [1]

Filming

Principal photography took place over twenty days in Montreal, June 9 to July 6, 2000, under the working title Dead of Night. [3] [4] Grenier said that cinematographer David Franco used a lot of interesting wide angle shots, giving the film "an unusual and edgy look." [3] Grenier elaborated: "The whole movie is like a maze. You know there's an exit but it seems unreachable and everything just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

Release and reception

Dead Awake was first broadcast on November 6, 2001. [5]

With a generic title and low-level American star, this could easily be dismissed as another bland straight-to-video thriller... it's a surprisingly eccentric, comic thriller, that plays around with chronology and expectations. A little confusing at times, as it rushes through some explanations, but definitely worth a look. Lots of quirky characters and decent performances -- particularly Grenon and Ironside (both in slightly smaller parts than their billing would suggest) who give delightfully atypical performances as inhabitants of an all-night diner the hero frequents. That's Conrad Pla as the transvestite hooker.

The Great Canadian Movie Database [6]

Distribution

In July 2000, it was announced that Dead Awake would be distributed by Lions Gate Films in Canada, by Millennium Pictures in the United States and by Martien Holding internationally. [3]

Home media

Dead Awake was released on VHS (Millennium) and DVD (First Look Home Entertainment) in 2002. [7] [8]

Streaming

The film is currently available on Amazon Prime. [9]

Critical response

The author of Critic Online calls Dead Awake one of the better Canadian thrillers of the early 2000s because of its interesting characters, and one of Stephen Baldwin's best films, because "it incorporates his morose acting style into the script." [10] The Great Canadian Movie Guide assigns the film 3 stars, praising the unconventional performances and imaginative story. [6] Johnny Betts was "surprised" to find that Dead Awake "is actually a decent little movie" with "a plot and doesn't rely on women taking off their clothes every two minutes (a staple in most straight-to-video movies)." Betts also praised the "mix of plot twists, dark humor, and weirdness." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Caine</span> English actor (born 1933)

Sir Michael Caine is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over a career that spanned eight decades and is considered a British cultural icon. He has received numerous awards including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. As of 2017, the films in which Caine has appeared have grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide. Caine is one of only five male actors to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting in five different decades. In 2000, he received a BAFTA Fellowship and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Night Shyamalan</span> American filmmaker (born 1970)

Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Baldwin</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1966)

Stephen Andrew Baldwin is an American actor, producer, director, and activist. He has appeared in the films Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Posse (1993), 8 Seconds (1994), Threesome (1994), The Usual Suspects (1995), Bio-Dome (1996) and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000). Baldwin also starred in the television series The Young Riders (1989–1992) and as himself in the reality shows Celebrity Big Brother 7, which he placed 9th, in the United Kingdom and Celebrity Apprentice. In 2004, he directed Livin' It, a Christian-themed skateboarding DVD. He is the youngest of the four Baldwin brothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Baldwin</span> American actor (born 1963)

William Joseph Baldwin is an American actor and the second-youngest of the four Baldwin brothers. He has starred in the films Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Virus (1999), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he portrayed himself, and the Netflix show Northern Rescue (2019). Baldwin is married to singer Chynna Phillips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Stiles</span> American actress (born 1981)

Julia O'Hara Stiles is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role at age 15 in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996), followed by a lead role in Wicked (1998) for which she received the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Award for Best Actress. She rose to prominence with leading roles in teen films such as 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Down to You (2000), and Save the Last Dance (2001). Her accolades include a Teen Choice Award and two MTV Movie Awards, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award, and Primetime Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Parker</span> Canadian actress (born 1972)

Molly Parker is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She garnered critical attention for her portrayal of a necrophiliac medical student in the controversial drama Kissed (1996). She subsequently starred in the television thriller Intensity (1997) before landing her first major American film role in the drama Waking the Dead (2000). She gained further notice for her role as a Las Vegas escort in the drama The Center of the World (2001), for which she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Grenier</span> American actor (born 1976)

Adrian Sean Grenier is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Vincent Chase in the television series Entourage (2004–2011). He has appeared in films such as Drive Me Crazy (1999), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Trash Fire (2016), and Marauders (2016). In 2021, he acted in the Netflix series Clickbait.

<i>Frightmare</i> (1981 film) 1983 American film

Frightmare is a 1983 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane. It stars Ferdy Mayne, Luca Bercovici, Jennifer Starrett, Nita Talbot and Barbara Pilavin, along with Jeffrey Combs in his horror film acting debut. The film's plot follows a group of drama students who decide to kidnap the corpse of a recently deceased horror movie star. By disrupting his tomb, they unwittingly release an ancient black magic that begins consuming them one by one.

Shimon Dotan is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Baldwin (director)</span> American actor and film director (1931–2017)

Peter DuBois Baldwin was an American actor and director of film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munro Chambers</span> Canadian actor

Munro Skylear Chambers is a Canadian actor who is best known for his roles as Wilder on The Latest Buzz (2007–2010), Elijah "Eli" Goldsworthy on Degrassi (2010–2015), Frankie Chandler on Lockwood (2016–present) and Nate on Second Jen (2016).

Escape Artists Productions, LLC, commonly known as Escape Artists, is an independently financed motion picture and television production company with a first look non-exclusive deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment, headed by partners Steve Tisch, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and David Bloomfield.

Macha Grenon is a Canadian film and television actress.

Paul Gregory was an American film, theatre and television producer.

Family Pack is a 2000 drama film, directed by Chris Vander Stappen.

The Sleep Room is a 1998 Canadian television movie about experiments on Canadian mental patients that were carried out in the 1950s and 1960s by Donald Ewen Cameron and funded by the CIA's MKUltra program. It originally aired as a miniseries and is based on the book In The Sleep Room: The Story of CIA Brainwashing Experiments in Canada by Anne Collins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Pullman</span> American actor (born 1993)

Lewis James Pullman is an American actor. A son of actor Bill Pullman, he began his acting career with the film The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017), starring his father. His subsequent film credits include supporting roles in The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and a starring role in 'Salem's Lot (2024).

<i>The Ideal Man</i> 1996 Canadian film

The Ideal Man is a Canadian romantic comedy film, directed by George Mihalka and released in 1996. The film stars Marie-Lise Pilote as Lucie, a successful magazine editor who feels her biological clock ticking as she has reached the age of 35 without becoming a mother, and sets out on a quest to meet as many men as possible over the next three months in the hopes of finally finding the ideal man to father a child.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postmodern horror</span>

Postmodern horror is a horror film related to the art and philosophy of postmodernism. Examples of this type of film includes George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre John Carpenter's slasher film Halloween and Wes Craven's Scream.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dead Awake". collections.cinematheque.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Dead Awake". Elephant (in French). Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "La Vie, la vie for 39 episodes on Radio-Canada". Playback . July 10, 2000. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Quebec film preprod update". Playback. June 12, 2000. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Dead Awake". Oldies.com. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Dead Awake". The Great Canadian Movie Database. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Dead Awake VHS". Amazon.com . January 29, 2002. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  8. ↑ Dead awake. OCLC. OCLC   48856825 . Retrieved November 11, 2019– via WorldCat.
  9. ↑ "Dead Awake". Amazon Prime . Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  10. ↑ "DIRECT TO VIDEO (DTV) FILMS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD 1997 - 2015". Critic Online. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  11. ↑ Betts, Johnny. "June 18, 2002". The Doorless Stall. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.