Another Hole in the Head Film Festival 2024 Coverage
For God’s Sake Wake Her Up review
For God’s Sake Waker Her Up is a horror story born from guilt and grief. Like those emotions it’s effecting…but slow.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
For God’s Sake Wake Her Up
Directed by Wayne Moreheart
Written by James Howells
Starring Sarah Crawford, Mamie Kakimoto, Queen Legend, Isabel Klapwyk and Bridgit Lee Martin
For God’s Sake Wake Her Up Review
Grief and horror share a long history. The genre is known for its strong use of metaphor. It’s one of the aspects of horror that lends a level of depth that many are unwilling to credit it with. For God’s Sake Wake Her Up is about grief. Those aren’t the most exciting jumping off points for a story…but we’ve seen plenty of movies craft engaging and even thrilling films out of the concept. The Babadook and Hereditary come to mind immediately. Midsommar, Don’t Look Now, The Descent, The Final Girls, Pet Sematary…there are countless examples. For God’s Sake Wake Her Up isn’t nearly as successful as the ones provided.
That’s not fair. I listed some of the best horror movies around. An unfair starting point for any comparison. But everyone knows those movies. They may serve as tentpole films for the grief metaphor set…but what good would there be in listing a bunch of movies most people won’t know. The metaphor is used as the backbone of horror stories often enough that you need something to make yourself stand out. For God’s Sake Wake Her Up is a solid movie in pretty much every regard. But it doesn’t stand out.
It also falls into the trap that many of the lesser-known grief horror films do. It’s slow. Not all the time…but enough to drag the movie down for stretches. Slow burn horror movies are even more prevalent than grief-based horror movies…but the technique often seems to go hand in hand with the metaphor. Half of the massively successful titles listed above could be described as slow burn. It becomes truer the further down the line of quality you go. Too many films based around grief become mired in recreating the feel of it. It’s not a thrilling place to begin.
Rizz (Sarah Crawford) recently lost her mother. Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, she leaves the funeral with her friend Myles (Queen Legend). After breaking into a deserted house, they find April (Mami Kakimoto) locked in some kind of sleep paralysis. They uncover April’s backstory through a series of video diaries…and Rizz becomes determined to save the woman from the demonic entity that plagues her.
There’s a strong concept in For God’s Sake Wake Her Up. It’s easy to connect with Rizz’s quest to save April. The use of April’s video diaries to fill in the story is unique…even if it isn’t the most exciting way to show information. Like I said, For God’s Sake Wake Her Up is a solid movie. Other than the deliberate, and intentional, pacing…there aren’t a lot of things to point to with a negative finger. It even has one tremendous moment of unexpected and shocking violence. There’s simply not enough here to keep the movie as engaging as it could be. There’s no second point of interest.
The story heads down most of the expected routes. Rizz and Myles become trapped in the home by some supernatural force. Which…honestly…kind of undercuts Rizz’s purpose. Putting yourself in danger to save a stranger while grief and guilt ridden about the way you just lost a loved one is a good story. Being trapped with that stranger…well…what else are you going to do? Rizz and Myles’ friendship is tested by Rizz’s mission. It makes sense to have a character not fully on board with a plan to defeat a demonic entity…but (leaving aside that doing so may be their only way out of the house) their dynamic feels born more out of necessity than anything else. If there is no arguing…virtually nothing would be happening in For God’s Sake Wake Her Up’s first two acts. We’d just be watching people watching videos. … Which we also do.
All told, For God’s Sake Wake Her Up offers a (mostly) predictable plot delivered as a slow burn horror story. The payoff is fine. Rizz’s motivation is strong. It tries some things that feel fresh. The movie is fine. These days, you need something more to capture people’s attention. As it stands…viewers are just like Rizz and Myles watching April’s video diaries. Watching something somewhat interesting that isn’t doled out in the most exciting manner.
Scare Value
Strong character work and atmosphere put the proper pieces in place for a dark, emotional horror story. The pacing is an issue. For God’s Sake Wake Her Up takes a long time getting to the meat of its story…and fails to kick into the appropriate gear once it does. A fine meditation on guilt and grief. Not as entertaining as it could be.
