If I Die Before I Wake (1998)

Wonderful character development!

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

...since I watched the movie just recently on German TV and I don't know how much was edited out by the TV station it was on. There really seemed to be a lot missing and the whole story seemed inconsistent and lacked continuity. I did not see any rape scene although there was supposed to be one somewhere. I never found out, who the intruders were and why they were there.Some other bits of the movie just made it appear ridiculously fake (ripping out parts of the house, don't want to spoil anything) and at one point I was sure that Lori Beth and one intruder MUST HAVE seen each other, but both actors "no sold" the encounter.Well, I don't want to rate the movie. It kept me watching and entertained me, but there certainly seemed to be some flaws. However, since I probably watched a highly edited version I don't find myself in a position to fairly rate this movie.

This home invasion thriller hits the ground running and doesn't stop until the last frame. The cast was full of names you've never heard of, which made the characters that much more believable. The acting was uniformly great, from the particularly nasty trio of invading brothers to the littlest child victim. The non-stop action keeps attention riveted to the screen...there wasn't one boring moment. The writing is innovative, non-formulaic. Family members you don't expect to die do, one of the bad guys turns out to be unexpectedly kind, and the youngest family member is surprisingly resourceful. If you want a terrific good vs. evil ride, full of suspense and colorful characterizations, this one's for you!

Mg, i cant explain how good this movie is.... while it may not be perfect, it makes up for it in ways....*spoilers* the movie starts off on a happy way, everyones sleeping cep't the son, And there's cheery music playing, then, then the chaos begins, I am only 14 and i have watched this movie, which with average 14 year olds can be a bit, ehhh... mainly because it is very violent, I'm talking, skull bashings ,eye stabbings, rape, and there's even a bit of pedophile mixed in.Now don't get me wrong this isn't a gore filled massacre but, I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone who cant watch a Friday the 13th movie.The dialog/acting is pretty good in this movie considering it is a low-budget movie. i was really surprised by the girl who plays Lori Beth she is very convincible, which adds to the chill. also the main thug is very frightening, mainly cuz he is so vulgar.If u like low budget movies and u want to be scared...RENT THIS but if ur expecting a gore fest rent- something else.

Take this comment as a WARNING.This movie was all around poorly directed and poorly scripted. It's a wonder how easy it is to direct a movie these days. Movie is all about the direction. This had none.The main character, LoriBeth (Jones), was running around in circle --inside the house, up the chimney (yes it's true!), outside the house, back in the house, up the chimney again, outside the house, then, inside the house...Actually, if I can say one positive thing, Stephanie Jones' acting was not that bad. She was just made to look like an idiot. Why didn't she use the shotgun when she could have? Hmm...maybe using a cut piece of glass is more effective...This was no thrill...just frustration.