Films: Before I Wake (2016)

Alias: None

Type: Mystical

Location: Civilized Area/Eldritch Location

Height/Weight: That of an average human.

Affiliation: Evil

Summary: The young, impressionable mind of a child is quite something, if we say so ourselves. But you'd better hope they don't have some crazy psychic powers. For even the tiniest misconception of reality can have consequences. Big ones.

History: Cody Morgan is a curious case. His mom died from pancreatic cancer when he was three, and as several people have found out, he has the power to make his dreams come to life when he's asleep. At first, it's a neat trick, but then things take a turn for the worse when a horrific monster starts stalking people. You see, Cody misinterpreted his mom's cancer as a sign of a demon taking control of her, and has nightmares of it frequently. This beast, known as the Canker Man (a misreading on Cody's part of "cancer man"), is an unstoppable murderer, and when Cody's accidentally drugged into prolonged slumber, the nightmare really begins...

Notable Kills: We see an adult get eaten by it. As in, it hugs him and absorbs him into its body. Sheesh!

Final Fate: After Cody's involuntary slumber causes the Canker Man to rampage in an orphanage, his new mom placates it with a butterfly-shaped pillow, and brings out Cody, who finally overcomes his fear of it. The boy realizes that the demon was just a misguided memory of his mom's last days, and even starts to gain more control of his wonderous powers.

Powers/Abilities: The Canker Man appears whenever Cody falls asleep, spews dark butterflies constantly, and if he touches you, you become absorbed into his body. He's also ridiculously fast and strong.

Weakness: If Cody is either awake or dead, the monster ceases to be. However, pleasant memories can also calm it down or outright turn it back into a less fractured good dream.

Scariness Factor: 4-Let's get this out of the way. The Canker Man's mere existence is a walking tragedy. It's literally just a boy's repressed memories of his mother's degrading health and appearance, and the way it eats people is a metaphor for how cancer destroys all it touches. Seeing it being hugged makes it look less like a monster and more like a agonized child, just like its creator. But that aside, it's a scary creature. An emaciated ghoul with many teeth, this thing will have you dead to rights if that kid doesn't wake up.

Trivia: -This film was directed by Mike Flanagan who did the film "Oculus" back in 2013. That involved a killer mirror. Needless to say, this was a major step-up.

-Speaking of which, don't call this film a horror movie to Mike's face. He sees it as a fable or supernatural drama. Okay, so it's a really scary fable, fair enough. But aren't all horror films that in some way?