THE STAY AWAKE (1987)
If this film was permeated with baseless gore and categorically wanton nudity, it would be heralded as distinguished cheese. Alas, The Stay Awake is flummoxed junk. I'm not even sure how to go about contriving a synopsis. Let's see...a serial rapist is sentenced to death in America. 30 years later, he haunts a boarding school in Europe. And I'm immediately baffled. Why Europe? Don't worry; the script poses more questions that it has no intention of answering. Our arbitrary poltergeist spooks a group of girls by manifesting as an effusion of lambent light, an ambulatory firehose and a clammy lizard demon. The good news is that we get to see a ridiculous creature suit.
The bad news? Well, The Stay Awake fucking sucks. Nothing happens during the first act. Writer/director John Bernard doesn't settle on a main character until late in the game, and by then, I was ready to torch the tape. Apparently, a "stay awake" is a slumber party, but of course, all of the cute girls in attendance remain clothed. We're cheated out of a shower scene. That's a big no-no, in my book. So yeah, fuck this movie. The pace is disinclined, the ending is ambiguous and most importantly, we're cheated out of a shower scene. To be fair, Bernard has an eye for sublime visuals (I dug the POV shots). I'm surprised that this dud is his only credit to date.
Did I mention that we're cheated out of a shower scene? Grrrr...
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