Sleep Paralysis Horror For God’s Sake Wake Her Up (PANIC) Has Enough Scares to Keep You Awake
Title: For God’s Sake Wake Her Up
First Non-Festival Release: TBD
Director: Wayne Moreheart
Writer: James Howells
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Starring: Sarah Crawford, Mamie Kakimoto, Queen Legend
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Panic Film Festival in 2025.
Sleep is one of the few constants in life that all humans must experience. The amount varies but there is some expectation that sleep factors into most everyone’s daily or nightly routine. A lack of sleep can lead to other complications, death being one of them if one’s insomnia persists long enough.
Full of angst and grief after the passing of her mother, Rizz (Sarah Crawford) is tailed by her best friend Myles (Queen Legend) as Rizz refuses to return home and face life without her mother. Content to wander around the city until the late hours of the night, Rizz decides to break into a seemingly abandoned house. Inside the duo discover April (Mamie Kakimoto) stuck in some sort of powerful sleep paralysis. With only a few video tapes as clues to what is ailing her, Rizz makes it her mission to free April from her paranormal prison to make up for her own absence in her mother’s death.
A harrowing indie with a fresh take on the horror of sleep, For God’s Sake Wake Her Up delights with its approach to scares.
While never fully diving into found footage, For God’s Sake Wake Her Up integrates the medium into its story with flair. With the filming style veering out of popularity as of late, this indie film uses April’s video archive to not only further the film’s plot but also to add a more dynamic element to it. With this integration, it gives Rizz and Myles integral clues to April’s condition and also takes the action to a different time, even if it is happening in the same place. The inclusion feels organic and serves as an interesting choice to structure its story on grief.
Teenagers making stupid decisions out of spite for authority and reason is a staple in horror movies, and for good reason. Rizz makes for a compelling character because she is so prickly and cold in the face of loss while impassioned to protect a stranger. It’s no mistake that Rizz’s draw to April can be tied to her own survivor’s guilt involving her mother. It’s hard to confront reality when you’ve never faced it beforehand. Already losing her mother, Rizz develops tunnel vision to save April, risking her and Myles’s safety to achieve this goal. This shortsightedness is both frustrating and endearing, as it reflects the maelstrom of emotions plaguing Rizz, who, a reminder, is a teenager who just lost her mother to a terrible disease. There’s not much new here, but Sarah Crawford injects enough charisma into the role to make Rizz so easy to root for.
Its setup might take awhile to fully settle in, but For God’s Sake Wake Her Up revs up the tension through its smart character dynamics. Rizz and Myles are onscreen together for most of the film and their relationship is put to the test over this night. Rizz’s underlying guilt for her mother’s death and Myles’s guilt for not knowing how to comfort Rizz serve as the force that keeps the story moving with its central conflict brewing upstairs. The back-and-forth is similar to other teen coming-of-age horrors, but there is something sweet about Rizz and Myles’s relationship, especially this very specific point in which it is explored.
The weakest point of this indie comes in the form of its spiteful entity. Inconsistent in its characterization as a vicious spirit, its indecisiveness undercuts the stakes of the film. With so many opportunities to take out Rizz and Myles, even after it reveals itself, it just doesn’t seem dangerous. Sure, it shows its cards once, but it begs the question why it doesn’t act similarly throughout the film. Horror logic should be applied liberally, but sometimes it can become too much, as is the case here.
Fans of character-driven, indie horror will enjoy the low budget charm of For God’s Sake Wake Her Up. There’s always something heartening about independent films getting made, especially one with a clear heart and vision like For God’s Sake Wake Her Up. It’s not often that Asian-American led horror gets made, and this little haunter does its job as an entertaining popcorn movie splendidly. It’s rough around the edges and not wholly original, but it packs enough punch through its scares and heart to make it a recommendation. For God’s Sake Wake Her Up is definitely an indie you don’t want to sleep on.
Overall Score? 6/10
