Jeffrey Reddick’s Dead Awake begins production, stars Jocelin Donahue

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

When we first reported on DEAD AWAKE, a sleep paralysis thriller from FINAL DESTINATION creator/screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick, the plan was for it to start filming in the fall of 2014. The schedule got pushed back nearly a year, but last week the project went into production in San Antonio, Texas with director Phillip Guzman at the helm and a solid cast in place.

Jocelin Donahue (pictured above) of THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL and INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2 stars as

a young woman who discovers an ancient evil stalking its victims through the real-life phenomenon of sleep paralysis. After losing someone close to her, she teams up with a local artist to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the unexplained death. After she is finally exposed to the terrifying truth by an eccentric expert on sleep disorders, her investigation unknowingly puts her best friend and everyone close to her in danger.

The artist who aids Donahue's character is being played by Jesse Bradford, with their co-stars including Lori Petty, Brea Grant (pictured below), Dileep Rao, and James Eckhouse.

Reddick is executive producing with A.J. Gutierrez, LeeLee Wellberg, and Galen Walker, while Guzman is producing with Derek Lee Nixon, James LaMarr, Kurt Wehner, and Philip Marlatt.

Reddick had this to say about his new genre offering:

"I’m thrilled to have such a talented group of people come together to bring this terrifying story to life. Final Destination tapped into the universal fear of dying. But you only die once; you have to sleep every night."

A former longtime employee of New Line Cinema, Reddick famously made first contact with the company when he sent them a script for a prequel to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET when he was just fourteen years old. Although I'm sure his DEAD AWAKE story is completely new, the basic idea does bring to mind Freddy Krueger and makes me wonder if Reddick is getting some ELM STREET dreams out of his system with this one. Whether or not the finished product will give off that vibe, I'm interested and looking forward to checking it out.