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As usual Hayden Christensen looks in desperate need of a shot in the arm. Indie thriller Awake finds him as a rich kid with a dodgy ticker who becomes conscious during surgery and, still paralysed, overhears a plot to kill him. It's an attention-grabbing premise but one that first-time writer-director Joby Harold fails to make good on. For one thing, Christensen appears vacant even with his eyes open, and that's only underlined by being peripheral to the action.

Director Harold soaps up before surgery, dwelling far too long on the relationship between heart patient Clay and his girlfriend Sam (Jessica Alba). Clay keeps it a secret from his domineering mother Lilith (Lena Olin) until finally, he gets the call for transplant surgery. Knowing that he may not survive the operation, he marries Sam against mum's wishes. That makes for a frosty atmosphere in the waiting room, but that's nothing compared to the excruciating pain that Clay feels under the surgeon's knife, along with the gradual realisation that he is being murdered.

"FUTILE FRENZY"

Of course there isn't much Clay can do while his body is in paralysis so Harold gives him an out-of-body experience. Alas, even then all our hero can manage is a bit of childish petulance: hollering and stamping his feet in the background. To take his mind off the pain, there are flashbacks to happier times at which point the story flatlines. The only sequence that truly gets the pulse racing is the build up to the first incision. Harold later depends on obvious twists and revelations, carelessly stripping the main players of all credibility. Terrence Howard, because of his moral ambiguity as the chief surgeon, is the only intriguing character while Clay, in his futile frenzy, grows ever more tedious. As thrillers go, this one shows few vital signs.

Awake is out in the UK on 4th April 2008.