Name

Professor’s name

Course

Date

Sleep Paralysis in Dead Awake (2017)

I selected Dead Awake over other movies as I resonate with what happens in the film. After watching this movie, I felt that I could relate to the experiences of the characters because sleep paralysis is something that I have experienced myself. At first, I never knew that sleep paralysis is a severe condition but upon watching the film, I related to the occurrences. I also selected this film as it does a great job of dramatizing what sleep paralysis is by making it feel like a reality. I understand that the film is a pure work of fiction, but I could not help but feel goosebumps while watching it. I found it interesting that at the birthday party, one of Kate’s friends mentions that she has been experiencing a dream where she is nearly falling into an endless pit and that everybody has experienced the dream, which is profound because I have had that dream severally.

One scene where altered consciousness is vivid is when the doctor is watching over Kate as she sleeps. When the monster attacks Kate, the doctor’s adrenaline pump refuses to function and because he cannot do anything to revive Kate, he puts himself to sleep to draw the attention of the monster from Kate. This strategy works for a while and Kate has another dream while still asleep where she sees her dead sister Beth.

The people in Dead Awake are experiencing sleep paralysis, a sense of consciousness and immobility that happens simultaneously during sleep. Sleep paralysis takes place in between the stages of sleep and wakefulness. The characters in the film, including Beth, Kate, and the Doctor, experience phases of sleep paralysis at some point. My overall impression of the movie is that it does a good job of dramatizing how sleep paralysis occurs. The movie is one of the scariest movies I have ever watched, but I enjoyed watching it.