Before I Wake
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Kate Bosworth, Annabeth Gish
What are dreams? Are they visions of what our imagination sees as beautiful? Or are they the manifestation of our deepest fears brought to life while we sleep?
For a little boy named Cody (Jacob Tremblay), they are both. When a young couple decides to adopt Cody, what begins as a season of joy is quickly transformed into a dark nightmare when Jessie and Mark (Thomas Kane & Kate Bosworth) discover a secret about their adopted son; a secret so malevolent and terrifying that it could threaten not only their lives, but Cody’s as well.
Dreams play a prominent role in this film and nowhere are they more strongly illustrated than in the bond shared between Cody and his adoptive mother, Jessie.
When we first meet Jessie, she is deeply in mourning over the loss of her young son, Sean, and we learn that she is having trouble sleeping because her dreams are haunted by the memory of her son’s death. When Cody comes to the house, his new parents begin to see Cody’s dreams…manifested as beautiful butterflies. In each dream, the mother, Jessie, is touched by a blue butterfly and it is in this moment, when the butterfly touches her, that she sees a vision of her son. As the bond between Cody and his new mother grows stronger, Cody’s dreams allow Jessie to be visited by tender memories of the son she lost…and it is these same memories which compel Jessie to keep that connection with Sean, who she is so desperately trying to hold on to, through her new son Cody.
We learn in this movie that dreams are sometimes conversations we have with ourselves; memories that are so traumatic that they have been buried deep within because we don’t know how to understand those feelings in the waking world. For Cody, who was a small child when his mother died, his deepest fear, the so-called “Canker Man”, is a malignant representation of Cody's last memories of his mother…and it also represents the essence of Cody’s mother who lingers in the world of the living. The last time Cody saw his mother, she was very sick with leukemia and this last impression of her manifested itself in Cody’s mind as the “Canker Man”...a terrifying monster who he believes “ate” his mother.
Ironically, when the Canker Man appears for the first time as a shadowed figure and enters Cody's room, he whispers "I will always be with you”...an echo of the same promise his mother whispered to her son just before she died. When Jessie shows the “Canker Man” the butterfly that Cody's mother made for him, the monster vanishes, leaving only the child asleep in his bed. I believe when she showed him the butterfly, the Canker Man disappeared because Cody no longer felt that fear that has haunted him since his mother’s death. He knew this new mother would love and protect him just like his first mother did.
“Before I Wake” is a well-told and emotionally gripping story that brings a unique perspective to an age-old archetype “there is no greater love than the love shared between a mother and her child.” The casting for this movie is exceptional, particularly for young Jacob Tremblay who once again impressed me with his portrayal of Cody. If you enjoy a good horror film, then this is one I would highly recommend.
© 2013 – 2018 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Kate Bosworth, Annabeth Gish
What are dreams? Are they visions of what our imagination sees as beautiful? Or are they the manifestation of our deepest fears brought to life while we sleep?
For a little boy named Cody (Jacob Tremblay), they are both. When a young couple decides to adopt Cody, what begins as a season of joy is quickly transformed into a dark nightmare when Jessie and Mark (Thomas Kane & Kate Bosworth) discover a secret about their adopted son; a secret so malevolent and terrifying that it could threaten not only their lives, but Cody’s as well.
Dreams play a prominent role in this film and nowhere are they more strongly illustrated than in the bond shared between Cody and his adoptive mother, Jessie.
When we first meet Jessie, she is deeply in mourning over the loss of her young son, Sean, and we learn that she is having trouble sleeping because her dreams are haunted by the memory of her son’s death. When Cody comes to the house, his new parents begin to see Cody’s dreams…manifested as beautiful butterflies. In each dream, the mother, Jessie, is touched by a blue butterfly and it is in this moment, when the butterfly touches her, that she sees a vision of her son. As the bond between Cody and his new mother grows stronger, Cody’s dreams allow Jessie to be visited by tender memories of the son she lost…and it is these same memories which compel Jessie to keep that connection with Sean, who she is so desperately trying to hold on to, through her new son Cody.
We learn in this movie that dreams are sometimes conversations we have with ourselves; memories that are so traumatic that they have been buried deep within because we don’t know how to understand those feelings in the waking world. For Cody, who was a small child when his mother died, his deepest fear, the so-called “Canker Man”, is a malignant representation of Cody's last memories of his mother…and it also represents the essence of Cody’s mother who lingers in the world of the living. The last time Cody saw his mother, she was very sick with leukemia and this last impression of her manifested itself in Cody’s mind as the “Canker Man”...a terrifying monster who he believes “ate” his mother.
Ironically, when the Canker Man appears for the first time as a shadowed figure and enters Cody's room, he whispers "I will always be with you”...an echo of the same promise his mother whispered to her son just before she died. When Jessie shows the “Canker Man” the butterfly that Cody's mother made for him, the monster vanishes, leaving only the child asleep in his bed. I believe when she showed him the butterfly, the Canker Man disappeared because Cody no longer felt that fear that has haunted him since his mother’s death. He knew this new mother would love and protect him just like his first mother did.
“Before I Wake” is a well-told and emotionally gripping story that brings a unique perspective to an age-old archetype “there is no greater love than the love shared between a mother and her child.” The casting for this movie is exceptional, particularly for young Jacob Tremblay who once again impressed me with his portrayal of Cody. If you enjoy a good horror film, then this is one I would highly recommend.
© 2013 – 2018 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.