Caine ends up at a local deli where he encounters some unusual characters: a nice, if bit lost, young woman (Macha Grenon) and a slightly deranged man who looks homeless (Michael Ironside), and an anti-social policeman.

Stranger still, Caine's girlfriend (Maxim Roy) is completely unaware that he gets up at night and wanders the city, while his personal assistant (Janet Kidder) seems to know all about his exploits.

[1] Principal photography took place over twenty days in Montreal, June 9 to July 6, 2000, under the working title Dead of Night.

[3][4] Grenier said that cinematographer David Franco used a lot of interesting wide angle shots, giving the film "an unusual and edgy look.

In July 2000, it was announced that Dead Awake would be distributed by Lions Gate Films in Canada, by Millennium Pictures in the United States and by Martien Holding internationally.

[9] The author of Critic Online calls Dead Awake one of the better Canadian thrillers of the early 2000s because of its interesting characters, and one of Stephen Baldwin's best films, because "it incorporates his morose acting style into the script.