Before I Wake (2016 film)

Before I Wake (released internationally as *Somnia*) is a 2016 American supernatural dark fantasy horror film. Mike Flanagan directed and edited the movie, co-writing the script with Jeff Howard. The cast includes Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Jacob Tremblay, Annabeth Gish, Topher Bousquet, and Dash Mihok. The film premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 24, 2016, and later became available in the United States through Netflix on January 5, 2018. Worldwide, it earned approximately $4.9 million and received mixed to negative critical reviews, with a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 40/100 Metascore on Metacritic.

The story follows Jessie and Mark Hobson, who take in eight-year-old foster child Cody Morgan after their own son, Sean, died by accidental drowning. Social worker Natalie Friedman tells them that Cody’s mother died of cancer when he was three, and two prior foster placements failed. On his first night, Cody mentions a nightmare creature called “the Canker Man,” but Jessie dismisses it. That night, the couple sees multicolored butterflies appear in their living room. When Cody wakes, the butterflies vanish. Later, the Hobsons witness their deceased son Sean materialize from Cody’s dreams. Jessie shows Cody home videos of Sean, and the dead boy reenacts them. Mark worries Jessie is using Cody for his gift rather than loving him, so he removes Sean’s pictures. At school, Cody falls asleep, and the Canker Man appears, devouring a bully named Tate. Jessie gets a doctor to prescribe sleep medication for Cody and secretly mixes it into his drink. That night, Sean reappears as a Canker Man-like figure, kills Mark, and knocks Jessie unconscious. Cody calls 911, but social services takes him to an orphanage, suspecting domestic violence. Jessie steals Natalie’s files and tracks down Cody’s first foster father, Whelan Young. He explains that Cody’s dreams resurrected his sick wife as a hollow replica, and his second foster parents also disappeared. Whelan suggests killing Cody to stop the nightmares, but Jessie refuses. She finds a box containing Cody’s mother’s belongings, including a butterfly-shaped pillow and a journal. At the orphanage, Jessie confronts the Canker Man, hugs it with the pillow, and the monster transforms into Cody, freeing the other children. Reading the journal, Jessie learns Cody mispronounced “cancer” as