[Review] Awake [MidWest WeirdFest]: From Crop Circles to Cattle Mutilations, This Sci-Fi Chiller Has It All

Brother-and-sister filmmaking team Francesco Paolo Cordaro and Andrea Cordaro have basically condensed mid-to-late 20th century American extraterrestrial mythology into a 17-minute nutshell with their terrific science fiction/horror short Awake (2023). It’s both a primer and a crash undertow on everything from cattle mutilation to Men in Black, and far beyond.

Betty (Megan Greener) and John (Mark Thomas McKen) are a married couple who own a farm. As John finds their cornfield trampled in places, Betty discovers that yet flipside of their cows have been sliced up. Matters are only going to get worse for the couple, as nighttime brings on startling terrors of its own.

The Cordaro siblings, working from a screenplay written by Francesco, have crafted a wild, spooky ride. Its archetype Americana setting initially offers a 1950s vibe but the decades don’t seem to matter much as  mysterious forces come into play and viewers are taken for a ride through the years, including a nearly word-for-word reenactment of one of the most famous calls to legendary late night radio host Art Bell’s Coast to Coast program. 

The set designs, from the rural sublet and the couple’s house to the eerie environment in which Betty finds herself, are all well rendered. Leroy Farrell’s cinematography beautifully captures the creepy proceedings.

Anyone who considers themselves an zealot of extraterrestrial fright-fare would be well well-considered to seek out Awake as it makes its way through the mucosa festival circuit. The mucosa won MidWest WeirdFest’s Best Sci-Fi Short award, and quite impartially so.

Awake screened as part of MidWest WeirdFest, which took place in Eau Claire, Wisconsin from March 3–5, 2023. 

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