Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Awaken the Shadowman’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are times when making ends meet is something that seems very far off for us. Watching as some people seem to have an easy time in doing so, you wonder what their secret is and why you cannot do it as well. It is easy to fantasize how easy things would be if you were rich, I mean every once in a while, I play the lotto to just have a shot, but our lives are really what we make them. While money would help us on the daily, in the long run, it is really about your loved ones and what we all can bring to the table.
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Adam and Beth are struggling to make ends meet after their baby Emma is born. Wanting to treat his wife to something nice for a night, Adam is shot down when Beth is trying to pick up some more shifts. While at the laundromat, Adam helps out an old woman who lost her change under the washers, and while he does not have the money to spare, he shows that there are things more important than just money. Getting thanks from the old woman, Adam gets a call from his brother Jake who is sad to report that their mother has gone missing. Needing to get to the house as soon as possible, Adam and Beth are shocked to see the outpouring of help that they are going to receive. 

With all of their mother’s friends in the house, Adam and Beth see that the woman means a lot to a group of people who all belong to an organization known as Gateways. The couple know little about the group, outside of the fact that the leader is a little strange, but thanks to said group, the two are suddenly on their first vacation since Emma was born. Trying to find out what could have happened to his mother, Adam starts to snoop around the community but is coming up short at every junction. Trying to talk to his mother’s ex-boyfriend, he is shut down, yet there is someone that is willing to talk to him when he gets a visit from a childhood friend. With the promise of explaining everything to him, Angela knows something that only the members of Gateways know and is willing to fill Adam in.

While staying at the house and talking to her sister-in-law Christy about life, Beth is seeing that the lives of this group are so much better than hers and wonders why. Getting uplifting gifts and complements from the woman, Beth is starting to believe that everything that she wants in life can become her own. As Adam is more focused on finding his mother than taking care of his family, Beth starts to attend the Gateways meetings and with the promise of a better life, she may be willing to do something that her husband will not approve of, but that is not enough to stop her. 

I thought from reading the description of this movie that I would be looking at a ghost story and I could not have been more wrong. This is more of a ‘what would you do’ movie and I would have to agree with Adam; this is not the way for a better life. The storyline was very good, and I liked the little dreams being added in for some added questions that get tied up in the end. The creepiness of what is going on in the small town after a rash of fires took everything from them and how happy everyone seems to be is just something that I did not expect to see. With a possible cult, an unhappy married couple, creepy dolls, a child pastor and a trade that can make life a breeze, it is a good movie that leaves you questioning, what would you do for a better life? Stay Scared.  

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