The Death That Awaits

"The Death That Awaits" is a film that I found really entertaining, but it so completely falls apart at the end that it's a bit stunning considering how good everything up to that was.

"The Death That Awaits" follows Cassie, who goes to a remote house (with, of course, limited to no phone service) to be a caretaker for 19-year old Nina, who is pretty unhappy about having a "babysitter" at her age. Her parents tell her that she should stay in the guest house because Nina has night terrors and would likely wake her, but we find out early on that it is much more than that -- Nina literally loses control at night and thrashes and screams. Cassie tries to be friendly and helpful and understanding to Nina, all the while fighting off advances from her brother and worrying about "treatment" that a local doctor is providing...

There are a few ways that this could be explained, and "The Death That Awaits" does a wonderful job of not letting us know what is going on. The actors all do a really nice job. And then, just when they are ready to explain the mystery, the movie goes and dumps a steaming turd of an ending on us. I mean, I wanted to throw something through my TV as it unfolded. I can't imagine what they could have been thinking.

Up until then, I thought I had discovered a new little gem of a film. But given how much it falls apart at the end, I can't recommend it.