‘Some mistakes haunt you’
The Wake is a 2017 American horror film about a group of friends who attend the wake of a child they accidentally killed with their car. Thereafter, they find themselves trapped and stalked by a masked assailant.
Produced and directed by Faouzi Brahimi and Bryan Brewer (The Raking) from a screenplay written by the latter, based on a story co-written with Allie Rivera, the Lesson 1 Entertainment production stars Bryan Brewer, Allie Rivera, Darla Delgado and Michael Aaron Milligan.
[May contain spoilers] Reviews:
“What The Wake is, is an idea that, while familiar, could have been twisted into a compelling character study with compassionate players involved. Instead, we get a movie that operates from a script that was written by someone astoundingly insensitive and completely devoid of tact or understanding tense scenarios.” Addicted to Horror
“Nothing about this movie really impresses. The writing, the directing, the acting, it’s all really below average. There are really aren’t any other redeeming qualities, such as a some good gore or scares, which often can still make these type of movies worthwhile.” Boba_Fett1138
“The Wake could have had true potential but if only it would have stuck to one storyline. The film suffers from bad lighting, camera angles and let us not forget the weak score.” Decay Mag
“The biggest problem with The Wake is director Bryan Brewer’s abysmal directing. The choices he makes in this movie are downright baffling. He seems inept at nearly every aspect of the filmmaking process. He can’t block shots. Most of the film is improperly lit.” Dread Central
“The third act is more successful than the first two, with the tables repeatedly being flipped between the killer and our child-killing protagonist. Here we get to see some engaging conflicts and audience loyalties are stretched. There is also a growing sense of dread as the characters figure out that they may be well out of their depth. Unfortunately, it all builds to a predictable climactic section…” Horror Cult Films
” …The Wake is an “okay” slasher that won’t set your world on fire, nor will you regret the time you spend with it…the film is competently made, I just wish the pacing and story were tighter and more inspired respectively.” Horror Fuel
“Improbable is perhaps the best way to sum up the entire movie, actually, from the reason Tyler isn’t in jail to the dubious finale. If you don’t mind working harder than usual to suspend your disbelief, it’s an entertaining hour and a half…” The Movie Critic Next Door
“This is an entertaining slasher in parts with a decent beginning and end, but I found the whole middle section to just drag on too long with not much occurring at all to keep me absorbed. I did enjoy the occasional curveball that was thrown to keep things fun…” The Rotting Zombie
” …it makes refreshingly little effort to stick to the way too tried-and-true formula, instead keeps one guessing throughout, and relies on atmosphere and suspense and well-placed sudden shocks rather than in-your-face violence. Plus, the weird premise, of course, works totally in the film’s favour, and so does the film’s rather unexpected finale that includes a deliciously odd plot twist.” Search My Trash
“It would be easy to dismiss The Wake straight away, as its budget limits much of what the filmmakers are trying to do, but actually, there is almost enough of a wacky twist at the end to stick with it, even if there isn’t much conviction by the performances, aside from Delgado who is great fun.” That Moment In
Cast and characters:
Bryan Brewer … Tyler
Allie Rivera … Casey
Darla Delgado … Mrs Stevens
Michael Aaron Milligan … Ben
Kristen Dalton … Ginger
Amanda Musso … Ashley
Faouzi Brahimi … Killer #1
Harper Lay … Caroline
Jakob Ulrich … Zach Stevens
Brad Hartmaier … Masked Killer
Jon Grady … Masked Killer
Olivier Rivest … Masked Killer
Technical details:
86 minutes
Trailer:
Full film free to watch online:
