Wide Awake (2006)

Director
Alan Berliner

Main cast
William C. Dement

Genres
Documentary, Foreign, Horror

Description
Filmmaker Alan Berliner chronicles his lifelong battle with insomnia in this intimate documentary. The cameras roll as he tries to quiet his overly active mind so he can get a decent night's sleep, capturing the details of what it's like to suffer from a chronic sleep disorder. As he struggles to find balance, his friends and family -- who endure the worst of Berliner's bouts with insomnia -- question whether he really wants to find a cure.


Similar movies

Eight people experience sleep paralysis, a condition which leaves them unable to move, speak or react.
An artist in crisis is haunted by nightmares from the past in Ingmar Bergman's only horror film, which takes place on a windy island. During "the hour of the wolf" - between midnight and dawn - he tells his wife about his most painful memories.
Jane lives in London with her boyfriend Richard. Her mother was murdered when she was young, she recently lost a baby in a car crash and she's plagued by nightmares of a knife-wielding man. Richard thinks that the cure is vitamins, while Jane's sister recommends psychiatric help. But a new neighbour promises that if she participates in a Black Mass, all her fears will disappear, instead it just seems to bring her nightmares to life.
Dr. Laurence, a once-respectable scientist, begins to research the origin of the mind and the soul. The science community rejects him, and he risks losing everything for which he has worked. He begins to use his discoveries to save his research and further his own causes, thereby becoming... a Mad Scientist, almost unstoppable...
A fear-obsessed freelance cameraman investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo.
1942, The Nederlands(ch)-Indië Government in Java Island captured Soekarno, an aspiring young man who wants to free Indonesia from colonialism. He was then put in Banceuy Prison at Bandung, Indonesia. Instead of lamenting, Soekarno found a way to fight back by delivering his famous defence oration "Indonesi Acccuse!" in his trial at Bandung Laandraad Courthouse. This story follows the life of Soekarno, Republic of Indonesia's first president, from his childhood until he managed to proclaimed Indonesian freedom with M. Hatta.
This dryly funny mockumentary about the lost work of a pioneering New Zealand film genius is probably one of the best examples of the faux-documentary genre. In fact, it was so successful that when it originally aired on New Zealand television, hundreds of viewers bought the premise hook, line, and sinker. If you didn't know any better yourself, it's entirely possible you might be duped into believing the extremely tall tale of one Colin MacKenzie, an ambitious filmmaker who made the world's first talking movie (years before The Jazz Singer), invented color film, and created a huge biblical epic that would put Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith to shame. Filmmaker Peter Jackson (Heavenly Creatures) shrewdly inserts himself into the film via his documentation of the "discovery" of McKenzie's lost epic, which for years was preserved in a garden shed.
Documentary about the life of avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, who led the independent film movement of the 1940s.
The proceedings of a Paris courtroom are the grist for this documentary. Drawn from over 200 appearances before the same female judge, the director chooses a dozen or so varied misdemeanor and civil hearings to highlight the subtle details of human behavior. In the process he draws attention to issues of guilt, innocence, policing and ethnicity in France.
A revolutionary film about the cinematic genius of North Korea's late Dear Leader Kim Jung-IL, with a groundbreaking experiment at its heart - a propaganda film, made according to the rules of his 1987 manifesto. Through the shared love of cinema, AIM HIGH IN CREATION! forges an astonishing new bond between the hidden filmmakers of North Korea and their Free World collaborators. Revealing an unexpected truth about the most isolated nation on earth: filmmakers, no matter where they live, are family.
Fallout from hydrogen bomb tests is turning people into blobs of oozing, radioactive green goop that travel through sewers and have a taste for human flesh, in "The H-Man" (1958). Kenji Sahara, Akihiko Hirata star.
A college professor wakes up to find his wife has not returned home, then struggles to understand her disappearance.
After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban 'starter' tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to.
Laura Baxter is a young woman, literally a "sleeping beauty," who suffers from a medical condition called "parasomnia." A childhood accident victim, she is actually sleeping her life away, awakening briefly on rare occasions. Art student Danny Sloan falls in love with her, unaware that her hospital neighbor, a terrifying mass murderer and mesmerist named Byron Volpe has other, more sinister plans.
Awaking from a coma to discover his wife has been killed in a car accident, Ben's world may as well have come to an end. A few weeks later, Ben's out of hospital and, attempting to start a new life, he moves home and is befriended by a beautiful young neighbour Charlotte. His life may be turning around but all is not what it seems and, haunted by visions of his dead wife, Ben starts to lose his grip on reality.
The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice, awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by new found allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.
Dr. David Marrow invites Nell Vance and Theo and Luke Sanderson to the eerie and isolated Hill House to be subjects for a sleep disorder study. The unfortunate guests discover that Marrow is far more interested in the sinister mansion itself -- and, soon, they see the true nature of its horror.
The reincarnation of a 10th century Japanese general haunts 1920s Tokyo
In "Haunted Pillow," TVB starlet Fala Chen is still obsessed with her lover (Gordon Lam) after their breakup and invariably suffers from insomnia. She gets hold of a Chinese herbal pillow that eventually helps her fall asleep again but it also draws her near something unexpected. "Hide And Seek" casts a group of young newcomers into an abandoned school campus where they meet longtime janitor Mr. Chan who takes shelter at the school. Playing hide-and-seek after midnight, the teenagers go missing, one after another. In his self-directed piece "Black Umbrella," Teddy Robin makes solving conflicts on the street at night his mission and marks each closed case with his signature black umbrella. Before he calls it a day, he meets a prostitute who forcefully pulls him upstairs for business and unfortunately things spiral out of control.
An eerie German silent film from 1920. This classic expressionistic film is known as a landmark in film history becoming famous worldwide from it’s exceptional new wave style of well built and painted grotesque scenery with contrasted lighting along with the painted effect of light and shadows. The film tells a surrealistic story with an unusual end that was the subject of controversy.
After the mysterious death of his Aunt, a confirmed skeptic lawyer, Bryan Becket, dismisses reports that her house is haunted and moves in. Immediately occurrences begin he cannot explain. And beyond the occurrences there is something about the house which gnaws at Becket - some strange connection he senses he has with the house's past. Soon, the haunting turns personal.
A multinational expedition discovers a lost city beneath a pyramid, where they must stop the reawakened gods of ancient Egypt from initiating the apocalypse
Remember that scientist that was trying to perfect a matter transportation machine but got fused with a fly when one of the little critters got into the transporter with him? Well, this story is about three of his descendents (a son, Henri Delambre, played by Brian Donlevy and two grandsons). Seems the son wants to continue and perfect the machine while his two sons want to get out of the scientist business and live "normal" lives. The oldest son, Martin, decides to take a wife (who just happens to have escaped from a mental hospital after her parents died). Martin's father is not happy with this intrusion but finally gives in because he understands him son's needs. They all try to be a happy family until humans used in botched experiments are discovered by the new bride and the police nearly discover the lab while looking for Martin's wife. Everyone tries to get out of there via the transporter but things just don't go according to plan ...
When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military task force to contain the outbreak. Alice and Rain are charged with leading the mission. But they only have three hours before the pathogen becomes airborne and infects the world.
Arthur Dichter thinks he is dying of insomnia, but the reality is much more frightening. In this surreal puzzle film, Dichter turns from his wife to a private journal to record his deepest fears. Anna knows her husband lives in a waking nightmare where delusions and reality blend, but is powerless to help him. As Arthur's disease gives way to despair, loneliness, and alienation, he and Anna hang onto their last shred of hope. This atmospheric film explores personal identity, marital discord, and contemporary life, turning narrative and chronology inside out to find the darkest corners of the human spirit.
Two seriously wounded samurai find refuge from a storm at an isolated temple, the home of a swordsman and a mysterious young woman. One samurai awakes to find that not only has his comrade died, but that his wounds have miraculously healed. He discovers that he has been given the power of immortality by the swordsman, a man once known as the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, who now lives an endless existence as Aragami, a "god of battle".
Two crew members wake up on an abandoned spacecraft with no idea who they are, how long they've been asleep, or what their mission is. The two soon discover they're actually not alone - and the reality of their situation is more horrifying than they could have imagined.
It's 1981 and the girls of Alpha Gamma Theta sorority are having a party. As the new pledges arrive, so does an uninvited guest. Little do the sisters know someone is watching them in the shadows. As the girls shower, study, eat and sleep the stalker studies the girls. One by one he finds the girls at their most vulnerable and murders them. The police hunt for the missing girls and their killer, but will they find them in time? Or will the girls be forced to fight for their lives..
An insomniac writer's sleep-deprived hallucinations distort reality as paranoia drives him to extreme violence.
A young writer experiences visions during episodes of sleep paralysis, and she retreats with her boyfriend to an isolated house in the desert. As the visions worsen, she teeters on the edge of insanity as she uncovers a life-threatening secret.
Young newlyweds Paul (Harry Treadaway) and Bea (Rose Leslie) travel to a remote lake house for their honeymoon, where the promise of private romance awaits them. Paul is woken in the middle of the night by a shaft of light entering the cabin, which sets off his bedside alarm. Returning to bed, he finds it empty and, after an anxious period of search, discovers a naked Bea cold and disoriented in the woods. As she becomes more distant and her behaviour increasingly peculiar, Paul begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place in the woods.
Danny is a long-term insomniac. He comes across an ad for the Audible Lucid Perceptions sleep clinic, run by the peculiar Dr. Zovnig, and goes in for a consultation. The doctor gives him a small audio device, which generates brain-frequency-altering audio waves, intended to hypnotize Danny into a dream state. Upon the first treatment, Danny is cured and is now sleeping better than he ever has in his life. Danny starts to realize that although he may be able to sleep again, there could be something wrong. Nightmares haunt his sleep, with recurring hallucinations and blackouts while he's awake. Is it all a side effect of the treatment, or is there some evil force at work, affecting Danny's every move?
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger (Robert Englund), who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen (Johnny Depp), must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
The eerie and deserted ghost town of Silent Hill draws a young mother desperate to find a cure for her only child's illness. Unable to accept the doctor's diagnosis that her daughter should be permanently institutionalized for psychiatric care, Rose flees with her child, heading for the abandoned town in search of answers – and ignoring the protests of her husband. It's soon clear this place is unlike anywhere she's ever been. It's smothered by fog, inhabited by a variety of strange beings and periodically overcome by a living 'darkness' that literally transforms everything it touches. As Rose searches for her little girl, she begins to learn the history of the strange town and realizes that her daughter is just a pawn in a larger game.
Sleepy New Haven California is a small town with a big problem. A sixty foot slithering horror has arrived and shattered the town's tranquillity on it's path of death and destruction... Growing violent and more savage with each attack the gigantic creature soon becomes an unstoppable feeding machine raging beyond control of it's creator, leaving only the stripped bones of it's victims in it's wake.
A group of paranormal investigators enter the abandoned home of paedophile and serial killer John Gacy, hoping to find evidence of paranormal activity. Upon entering the house they set-up cameras throughout the abandoned house while going room to room with hand-held cameras, performing séance's and asking for John Gacy to come forward. As the evening progresses it seems the investigators are not prepared for the horror still within the house.
A group of friends and their girlfriends head out for what is expected to be a vacation of hiking, camping and a good time, but when a backwoods mama finds them on her turf, it becomes anything but a vacation.
The story of vampire Barnabas Collins, the possible cure offered by Dr. Julia Hoffman, and his search for love amidst the horror.
A nurse in the Caribbean resorts to voodoo to cure her patient, even though she's in love with the woman's husband.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water again, you can’t even get across the sand! BLOOD BEACH meets SPRING BREAKERS in an ace monster mash-up of smart nostalgia and up-to-the-minute visual effects. After an all-night graduation beach party, a group of hung-over students wake up under blazing sun to find their numbers somewhat depleted. An enormous alien creature has burrowed down deep and anyone foolish enough to make contact with the sand finds themselves at the mercy of a sea of flesh-eating tentacles. Will they ever be able to escape its carnivorous clutches?
Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle over the food rations which were left behind by the former crew. Soon they discover something unfriendly there...
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
The Romanian count known as Dracula is summoned to London by Arthur Holmwood, a young Lord who is one the verge of being wed. Unknown to Arthur's future bride Lucy, her future husband is infected with syphilis and therefore cannot consummate their marriage. Arthur has laid his hopes of being cured on the enigmatic count; as it is said that Dracula has extraordinary powers. But these supernatural powers have sinister origins. The Count is a vampire. Soon Arthur realizes his serious mistake as all hell breaks loose and the Count infects others with his ancient curse. But Dracula has not counted on the young Lord acquiring the assistance of the Dutch Vampire expert Prof. Abraham Van Helsing.
Anton is a cheerful but exceedingly non-ambitious 17-year-old stoner who lives to stay buzzed, watch TV, and moon over Molly, the beautiful girl who lives next door. However, it turns out that the old cliché about idle hands being the devil's playground has a kernel of truth after all.
A doctor works to cure patients suffering from crippling phobias by placing them inside his invention which induces and controls hallucinations.
A young woman attempts to cure her phobia of the boogeyman by checking herself into a mental health facility, only to realize too little too late that she is now helplessly trapped with her own greatest fear.
When a brilliant but obsessive scientist goes to extremes to develop a universal cure for all disease, he finds himself infected with a bizarre parasite that begins to transform him into a bloodthirsty madman. Time running out, he must find a way to stop the monster that is growing within and prevent the rest of the world from being "cured."
A disease that turned people into zombies has been cured. The once-infected zombies are discriminated against by society and their own families, which causes social issues to arise. This leads to militant government interference.
A young woman’s nightmarish past returns to trigger off a bizarre phobia she was once cured of; an intense fear of space, eased only by closeness to walls. She becomes a psychological survivalist when her remote house suddenly becomes a spiritual battleground, as evil forces gather to torture her during a night of terror.
As the world succumbs to a zombie apocalypse, Cole a hardened mercenary, is chasing the one person who can provide a cure. Not only to the plague but to Cole's own incumbent destiny. DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND is a cutting edge British horror film that features zombies portrayed by free runners for a terrifyingly authentic representation of the undead
After his capture for attempted assassination of the Raikage, leader of Kumogakure, as well as killing Jōnin from Kirigakure and Iwagakure, Naruto is imprisoned in Hōzukijou: A criminal containment facility known as the Blood Prison. Mui, the castle master, uses the ultimate imprisonment technique to steal power from the prisoners, which is when Naruto notices his life has been targeted. Thus begins the battle to uncover the truth behind the mysterious murders and prove Naruto's innocence.
A scientist uses his invention - the "Menger Sponge" - to capture the energy of a dead child's spirit in an old building. In trying to determine why the energy of the ghost does not dissipate, the team discovers the identity and the dramatic story of the boy.
A mad scientist searching for a cure for polio. Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly mad scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs spinal fluid from a human to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing towns people.
On an island off the coast of North America, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state.
The Oxbow Cure is a winter tale of Lena, a middle-aged woman who has recently been diagnosed with a life-altering disease. In an attempt to come to terms with her transforming body, she leaves her home in the city for a new life in remote northern Ontario. While exploring the natural world outside her cottage, she begins to create an interior routine. A frozen lake, mere steps from her front door, is a source of both fear and fascination.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon is back! This time he's captured by scientists and transported to an aquarium in south Florida. Naturally, he's attracted to the lovely female scientist and manages to escape and kidnap her, heading to Jacksonville, presumably to catch a Jaguars game.
A lawyer puts his family in jeopardy when he captures the last member of a violent clan and tries to forcibly tame her.
A decent-looking lad called Dennis Skinner rents an apartment in a couple's house, Kerry and Geoff. At night he roams the streets with a goodie-bag filled with knives looking for victims to skin, constantly followed by the hobbling, wobbling junkie Heidi who was mutilated by him and is now looking for revenge. Dennis is attracted to Kerry and wants to show her the real him.
A documentary by two desperate young filmmakers who stumble upon the ultimate subject, a 33 year old cannibalistic serial killer named Anthony McAllister
He’s one of the hardest working filmmakers in the genre business.......So what’s HATCHET man Adam Green been up to this past year apart from working on his sit-com ‘Holliston’, writing KILLER PIZZA and prepping EXORCISM ON CROOKED LAKE? The answer is this documentary starting out exploring genre-based monster art and then taking an odd turn into the blurring of fantasy and reality. Because halfway through producing this treatise with cinematographer Will Barratt at his L.A. ArieScope Pictures offices, they are contacted by former policeman William Dekker who claims he can prove that monsters are indeed real. That they live in world just below our own named The Marrow and he knows where one of the entrances to this dark hidden universe is. Green of course is intrigued and so the monster hunting expedition begins… to become something else far more frightening than he ever imagined.

© Valossa 2015–2024