Dead Awake (2001 Film)
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''Dead Awake'' (also released as ''Dead of the Night'') is a 2001
black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
television film directed by Marc S. Grenier and starring
Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Born on the Fourth of July (film), Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Posse (1993 film), Posse'' (1993), ''8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome (1994 ...
,
Macha Grenon Macha Grenon (born June 7, 1968) is a Canadian film and television actress.Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known professionally as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor. A prominent character actor with over 270 film and television credits, he is known for playing villains and antiheroes, but has ...
.


Synopsis

Marketing executive Desmond Caine (
Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Born on the Fourth of July (film), Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Posse (1993 film), Posse'' (1993), ''8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome (1994 ...
) is stricken with a bizarre form of
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
, 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 Macha Grenon (born June 7, 1968) is a Canadian film and television actress.homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
(
Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known professionally as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor. A prominent character actor with over 270 film and television credits, he is known for playing villains and antiheroes, but has ...
), and an anti-social policeman. During one of his half-
hallucinogenic Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, moo ...
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 Maxim Roy (born March 7, 1972) is a French Canadian actress. In English, she is best known for playing Detective Isabelle Latendresse in the English-language version of the Canadian police drama television series '' 19-2'', Jocelyn Fray in the fa ...
) is completely unaware that he gets up at night and wanders the city, while his personal assistant (
Janet Kidder Janet Kidder (born 1972) is a Canadian actress known for her role of Osyraa in '' Star Trek: Discovery''. Biography Janet Kidder is the daughter of John Kidder and the niece of actress Margot Kidder. She was born in Cranbrook, B.C., the famil ...
) 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 ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. Broadcast on ITV between 1991 and 2006, it stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater Lo ...
...


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 Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...
and
digital effects Digital Effects Inc. was an early and innovative computer animation studio at 321 West 44th street in New York City. It was the first computer graphics house in New York City when it opened in 1978, and operated until 1986. It was founded by J ...
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 Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...
. 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 A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
''Fatal Affair''). ''Dead Awake'' was
made for television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...
, and was Locomotion's second feature production for the year 2000 with a budget of $4.2 million.


Writing

The screenplay was written by
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
-based Terry Abrahamson. Two working titles for the film were ''Wild Awake'' and ''Dead of Night''.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
took place over twenty days in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, June 9 to July 6, 2000, under the working title ''Dead of Night''. Grenier said that
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
David Franco used a lot of interesting
wide angle ''Wide Angle'' is the debut studio album by Welsh breakbeat group Hybrid (Welsh band), Hybrid. It was released to critical acclaim, described by ''The Times'' as "one of the most moving pieces of electronic music ever". The album was re-relea ...
shots, giving the film "an unusual and edgy look." 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.


Distribution

In July 2000, it was announced that ''Dead Awake'' would be distributed by
Lions Gate Films Lionsgate Films (spelled as Lions Gate until 2005, and formerly Cinépix Film Properties until 1998) is a Canadian-American film production and distribution company founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 15, 1962. It was owned by Lionsgate ...
in Canada, by
Millennium Pictures Millennium Pictures Pty Limited is a film and media production company based in Rosewood, NSW, Australia and run by Posie Graeme-Evans and her husband., Centre for Screen Business, 29 May 2007 Works * ''The Miraculous Mellops'' (1991-1992) * ...
in the United States and by Martien Holding internationally.


Home media

''Dead Awake'' was released on VHS (Millennium) and DVD (First Look Home Entertainment) in 2002.


Streaming

The film is currently available on
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...
.


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." ''The Great Canadian Movie Guide'' assigns the film 3 stars, praising the unconventional performances and imaginative story. 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."


References


External links


Official trailer
on
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* * {{rotten-tomatoes, dead_awake 2001 films 2001 black comedy films 2001 direct-to-video films 2001 psychological thriller films 2001 television films 2000s comedy thriller films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films 2000s English-language films American black comedy films American comedy thriller films American psychological thriller films American thriller television films Canadian black comedy films Canadian comedy thriller films Canadian psychological thriller films Canadian thriller television films Direct-to-video comedy films Direct-to-video thriller films English-language black comedy films English-language Canadian films English-language comedy thriller films Films about insomnia Films about murder Films shot in Montreal