SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

My husband and I really loved this movie. When the credits started, we knew that it was going to really be suspenseful. It made us care for the characters, and when they were placed in great danger by some very bad people, it kept us on the edge of our seats. Every scene reminded us of the constant battle between light and darkness. The cast was amazing. The preacher and his family were very believable, and the cult members were cold and very threatening. This is demonstrated when one of them is being ordained. As he kneels before the congregation, he coolly looks into the innocent face of the boy whose father he has just killed and silently chides him for not having his eyes closed during the prayer. That single scene showed clearly what kind of people we were dealing with. We have told our friends about it, and hope that we can bring them with us to see it the next time. Maybe a sequel would be great too.

I thought one of the best parts of this film was the young actor who played the pastor's son. Finding a watchable, and BELIEVABLE, child actor who can carry so much screen time is a challenge in itself, let alone in a smaller city like Portland where the infrastructure is not yet in place to churn out the hordes of well-trained young stars-aspirant that directors have access to in LA, for instance. So kudos to Elijah Nelson for his performance, and to the filmmakers for casting him.Not a filmmaker myself, I refuse to really speak to the film's more technical aspects...besides saying that MAKING A GOOD MOVIE IS HARD, why don't YOU try it and then come back and spout opinions! I am proud of our local boys for using the Opif to create something fitting for mainstream cinema, with professional production values all around. I think many of the deficiencies mentioned by our aspiring film critics (like spotty writing, over-scoring, etc.) are typical pitfalls of a film that is written, directed, edited, and produced all by the same team of people. To quote a favorite acting teacher of mine, they "fall in love with their own material," and have a hard time taking the axe to their product to really whittle it into something marketable, concise, and of quality. As the local industry grows, however, I am sure filmmakers will be able to avoid this trap more and more often. Oregon has such a talented and qualified pool of film workers that second and third opinions can't help but start to mean something.

A fascinating expose of morés in a small town - where religious convictions and the congregation members are never what they seem. Superb acting by an Oregon based ensemble and quality production values by a local Portland crew give this production a veneer that the producers - and financiers - should be proud of. Congratulations for a thoroughly entertaining evening. Special regard should be made for the lead performance of the Pastor (Robert McKeehen) and his sympathetic, level headed wife (Audrey Walker) while Michael Prosser gives that delicious creepiness to Ethan Evans, initially thought to be the bad guy, yet really the fall guy. Robert Blanche provides that understated, demonic twist. Newcomer Nouel Riel (soon to be seen in a great little flick "Did You Kiss Anyone") is excellent as the confused teenager, and focus of the cult. While naming names, Writer/Director/Cinematographer Brother class-act Jason and Todd Freeman meld a terrific cast and fine performances.

When I saw this film at the premiere (Bagdad theater Portland OR) I didn't know much about what I was going to see however I must admit I had certain expectations. This is because "Wake Before I Die" was the fourth independent feature premiere I attended at the same theater within the last six months so naturally, being an enthusiast of local, low budget film I was comparing them. I do not know anyone affiliated with the production of the film however I was aware of the budget and that it was over twenty times that of the previous three films I had seen there. I can honestly say without exaggerating that it was one of the biggest let downs I have ever encountered in a movie theater. If they had charged me money, I would have asked for it back, it would have been the first time. The most positive thing I can truthfully say about the film is among the muck there were a few stand out performances by some of the leads especially the children. It's too bad that these performances do not even come close to out weighing the boredom, the incoherency, the lack of editing, the first semester film school lighting, the grating music, the uninspired photography.. to name just a few problems I had with the film. I've seen better films produced on a budget of unemployment and food stamps. Seriously. My girlfriend and I did our best to pay attention throughout the excruciating run time and discussed what we thought it was about and neither of us could articulate a plot line we agreed on. We decided that we both agreed that no matter what it was, we didn't care. Portland currently has a vibrant, close knit, budding film community that just needs a few good staples to really catch the eye of the rest of the world. This film is not one of them, and I think honesty in the reviews is very important so there can be an accurate spectrum to judge other creative works within the city's film scene. (note that the ten star review above this one was made months before it's release).