Awake: Netflix’s new thriller shows us a terrifying world without sleep
By Mads Lennon
Netflix’s new sci-fi thriller Awake gives off plenty of post-apocalyptic vibes, looking like a mixture between The Last of Us with a little bit of Bird Box thrown in for good measure.
Like Bird Box, Awake hinges on the possibility of humans adapting to a world where something fundamental is taken from them. In this case, it’s sleep. And like The Last of Us, the possibility for humankind’s ability to survive might come down to one little girl.
Awake stars Gina Rodriguez as an ex-soldier with a troubled past named Jill who might hold the key to a cure in the form of her young daughter. After a mysterious global event wipes out all electronics and makes it impossible for people to fall asleep, it appears that Jill’s daughter is the only one alive who can still manage to get some shut-eye.
Awake: What happens when humans can’t get any sleep?
Earlier today, Netflix officially released the first trailer for the upcoming film, which is scheduled to release on June 9. The trailer shows the beginning of the global catastrophe and the subsequent fallout. It looks like the turmoil is built in stages, first disorientation, then hallucinations and finally hysteria.
Based on the trailer, some seriously creepy stuff starts going down not long after people are unable to sleep, including what looks like cult-like activity, a nudist colony staring into the sun, people dangling from trees and even one woman in a church setting who appears to suggest sacrificing Jill’s daughter for the good of mankind.
If she’s the only one who can still sleep, I’m not sure how sacrificing would help anyone, lady! But it looks like it’ll be a fun, thrilling ride and I’m excited to watch.
Apart from Rodriguez, the film also stars Shamier Anderson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Ariana Greenblatt.
Check out the official trailer for Awake below:
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Awake premieres on Netflix, June 9.