Wake up and die - DVD

Content: When Camila (Andrea Montenegro) wakes up next to Dario (Luis Fernando Bohórquez) after a one-night stand, the young woman is initially a little confused and embarrassed. After all, sexual adventures of this kind are not really her style. But when Dario wakes up as well, she immediately feels attracted to him again. Between them it is very harmonious and passionate and they sleep together again. Suddenly everything blurs around Camila and she wakes up next to Dario again, begging him full of panic not to kill her. But Dario breaks her neck with an ice-cold snap. Moments later, Camila awakens again and slowly realizes that she is stuck in a deadly time loop from which she can only escape if she can forestall Dario's killing spree...

Wake up and die is at the beginning strongly reminiscent of the Chilean drama In Bed - En la cama, which was also about a young couple talking about life and love after a passionate one-night stand for almost the entire time completely unclothed. Miguel Urrutia's unusual thriller begins very similarly. The situation between Camila and Dario, where a certain feeling of happiness is mixed with shame and a little embarrassment, is captured very authentically and the conversation that develops between the two suggests a similar plotline to En la cama. But what starts out so harmonious and filled with passionate eroticism takes a turn from one second to the next, when the whole thing turns into a surreal horror version of And Every Day Gets a Groundhog.

Every time Camila wakes up at the same starting point, but knows what will befall her in the next few minutes. The whole thing is also filled with mysterious visions and gruesome twists, but they always lead back to the same point. From here on out, the film is an intense horror chamber game that has some pretty gory scenes, but is primarily captivating on a psychological level. Carried by only two actors, who also have to act naked most of the time, the film could have quickly come across as boring or lurid and voyeuristic.

However, this is where Urrutia finds just the right tone that makes Wake up and die a very intense thriller until the finale. True, especially in the final third, the Colombian filmmaker makes use of some motifs that are obviously borrowed from films like Psycho or the original Friday the 13th. One scene in particular seems to be taken directly from the slasher classic. Nevertheless, the thriller has a clear independence and a pleasant originality, which is maintained until the last shot. For those who need a lot of pace and carnage for a successful horror movie, Wake up and die might not be the right film. But if you rather appreciate psychological horror and like small intense chamber plays, you can't miss this film. Absolutely worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The technical realization of the film has turned out very atmospheric. The picture is clean, the sharpness is on a good level. Here and there, slight image noise is noticeable, but this only carries little negative weight. The color scheme seems a bit undercooled, but this fits well with the mood of the thriller. The sound is both in the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, as well as with the dts track, overall rather restrained, as primarily the conversations between Camila and Dario and minor sound effects determine the minimalist happening. Good!

Extras: Besides the trailer and other program tips from the provider, the DVD unfortunately has no additional bonus material to offer.

Conclusion: Wake up and die is rousing arthouse horror, a bloody chamber play that starts out like the erotic drama En la cama - Im Bett and then quickly mutates into a bitterly nasty version of Und täglich greüßt das Murmeltier with a touch of Psycho. Even though there are a few small lengths, director Miguel Urrutia has overall succeeded in creating a very suspenseful and original work that can be warmly recommended to lovers of more sophisticated horror dramas. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp