Prepare for DEAD BEFORE THEY WAKE

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres and coming to Digital from directors Andy Crane, Nathan Shepka and Shepka Productions is a race to save lives before they become DEAD BEFORE THEY WAKE.

Alex (Nathan Shepka) is a bouncer who always seems to find trouble happening around him. Keeping to himself, a man named Danny (Graeme MacPherson) comes knocking on his door with a job that pays a lot of money. There is a young girl missing and thought to be in the hands of sex traffickers and a political figure will make it worth his while to find her. The only place to even start is with a prisoner who might know about such a ring.

He learns about Amar (Manjot Sumal) and his family owning businesses and real estate where this kind of nefarious business could happen out of sight. That doesn’t stop Alex from searching, especially when he questions Amar’s associate Ryan (Wam Siluka Jr.) in his own unique way. He slowly discovers who is involved in hurting young girls. Alex tells his girl Gemma (Grace Cordell) what he is doing and she insists that once he finds the girl, he must get all the girls free.

That is going to take some doing but as Alex’s anger grows, he knows the only way to stop the likes of Amar and his men is to take them one full force!

Shepka as Alex is a man who mainly keeps to himself. When called upon to help discover what has happened to a young girl, he finds himself mixed in a world that has no humanity. Shepka gives his character a sense of needing to seek out the injustices because he knows the law won’t. Tracking down those responsible doesn’t go without its dangers and repercussions but Shepka’s Alex can take a beating and it not going to stop him from doing what’s right.

Sumal as Amar is the flesh peddler who doesn’t take no for an answer about anything. Sending out his crew of men to find young girls to kidnap, Amar answers to only one person while raking in the money. Sumal gives his character a dastardly look and feel with no conscience about what he is doing or who he is hurting. One thing is clear, it is all about his own survival. Siluka Jr. as Ryan knows what he is doing and when confronted by Alex, finds himself in a precarious position of either giving up information or deal with a bouncer with an attitude.

Cordell as Gemma is a working teacher by day and a dancer by night trying to make ends meet. She is also someone important to Alex and that puts her in danger but not enough that she doesn’t want to help any way she can. MacPherson as Danny is the man who started it all believing that Alex is the right man for the job.

Other cast includes Kareen Nasif as Ghadir, Sylvester McCoy as Evan, David McCallum as Taylor, Michael Laughlan as Jason, Emily Crawley as Chloe, and Patrick Bergin as Holden.

Shepka Productions is a Scottish film production company that specializes in horror and action thriller movies. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Glasgow. Shepka Productions also produces and consults on films and create horror and action thriller movies such as THE BABY IN THE BASKET.

Shepka says of the film, “We wanted to base the film on real events and researched how UK sex trafficking gangs operate to give the film a grounded sense of reality. It is important to highlight what goes on every day and can often be ignored by the mainstream. We don’t feel any studio would have taken on the story in this way, it is likely to be a divisive and controversial portrayal. Ultimately there still has to be a pay-off for the audience; the film culminates   in a brutal revenge-driven showdown.”

DEAD BEFORE THEY WAKE has a bit of a 2008 TAKEN feel about it in that the character of Alex, although the money doesn’t hurt, sees that doing the right thing helps more than one person. The destruction along the way is disheartening but it doesn’t stop the character from the ultimate goal – saving lives at all costs.

The story is a solid one with a cast of characters that each hold their own whether they be a good guy or bad. Bergin as Holden shows why he can still play both sides of a character and it is good to see him on the screen. The story begins slowly but that is important in its telling and adjusting to where the scenes take us. I don’t want to say too much because there are so many twists that writing about one thing leads to another to another so let’s just say the plot continuously thickens!

In the end – what the law can’t do, he will!

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About the Author

Jeri Jacquin

Jeri Jacquin covers film, television, DVD/Bluray releases, celebrity interviews, festivals and all things entertainment.