Stab Awake Review by Thomas Carpenter - MoreHorror.com

Something evil always happens in the woods. And Stab Awake doesn't disappoint. Stab Awake is a nice first effort from newcomer writer/director Mike Pickle. You can tell he has a passion for horror and music, as the film has a super soundtrack and some decent low budget special effects.

The storyline is pretty basic, nothing really original here. You have your young people partying at a remote cabin and they become hunted by evil from both the outside and from within.

On a more positive note, I enjoyed small details in this film such as the nod towards great literature in the form of 'Good and Evil', by Friedrich Nietzsche. I also found the acting of Kaight Zoia to be one of the strong points of this short horror film. I am looking forward to seeing how this actress and the director continue to progress in their future work.

STAB AWAKE is a 35 minute Horror short film starring Adam Conn, Kaight Zoia & Roxy Martinez. It follows a bunch of friends who take a trip to a cabin; the fun time soon turns to a terror filled experience when they come to find that a murderer is stalking in the woods. Will they be able to survive the evil lurking outside or is the true danger walking among them? (also starring: Marcos Lara, Mary Medellin, Moses Omar, Erik Saenz, Lyndsay Saenz, Jaime Rodriguez, Blanca Torres, Robert Salcido, & Mike Pickle as "Phil").

Director's Statement:

After singing and writing lyrics for a Rock band for 8 years; I am a first time filmmaker who decided to change careers late in life. I have always had a passion for writing stories that grew stronger while putting together a short film / video for my band. After leaving music I felt I had a lot to prove in the world of film so I jumped in head first. Being a horror hound; I wrote a feature film script that incorporated both the supernatural and slasher aspects that I loved about the genre. Reality quickly set in and I knew I needed to do at least one short to prove to myself and the industry that I had the passion and conviction to create a dynamic, entertaining horror film. How could I do this with no money, no experience and no resources? Enter Stab Awake. A 35 minute short with a 12 person cast consisting of only 2 actors and filmed with 1 experienced crew member. This film was a labor of love and made possible by loyal friends who, for the most part, had never been on camera or worked on a film set.

Stab Awake incorporates the same Slasher and Supernatural aspects of my feature film script, but I needed to zero in on a dynamic to make the sprawling concept of the feature fit into a short. What I came up with was a story of friendship, alienation and the conflicts that arise when something goes wrong. In this case TERRIBLY wrong. It's at once a campy Horror, Comedy and tragedy staying true to my favorite horror while maintaining a core of originality.

Trailer:

Official Site:

http://www.stabawake.com/