A group of young activists, led by Ethan (Benny O. Arthur), heads to the House Idea store, where they hide out until after closing time and then vandalize several storefronts. What they didn't count on was the deranged security guard Kevin (Turlough Convery), who's been assigned to the night shift as punishment after nearly losing his job. Kevin has had to give up his weekend of wild hunting in the wilderness, and circumstances dictate that he can pursue his prey in the urban jungle...
From the RKSS film collective, Wake Up feels less personal than their previous works (Turbo Kid, Summer of '84, We Are Zombies), but what it does offer is an alternative, clean, and minimalist take on horror cinema, in which Kevin crafts various bladed weapons and sets several booby traps around the place. There's no escape. The cell phone signal isn't working. That's highly unlikely, given the location, but previous films of this ilk have required a much greater suspension of disbelief. It's a good excuse for plenty of bloody clashes. And bloody they are.
Directors: François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell
Writers: Alberto Marini, Martin Soudan
Stars: Turlough Convery, Benny O. Arthur, Jacqueline Moré
The first twenty minutes offer a lighthearted introduction to our half-dozen Gen Z environmental warriors. Alberto Marini's script paints most of them as somewhat aloof, well-to-do young people eager to post all their exploits on social media. One of them even wears a Roadkill Superstar T-shirt, unaware that referencing the creative talent behind the film isn't necessarily a ticket to survival.
Now, I'm not saying being annoying is a reason to be slaughtered by a maniac, but these supermarket intruders aren't the most likable you'll ever meet. In short, they're the kind of people audiences of this subgenre would be thrilled to see eliminated in imaginative ways. The plot even gives the killer some justification for running amok.
If you're looking for a direct attack, Wake Up gets going quickly and rarely slows down. The supermarket's geography is well-defined, and the warehouse shelves are ideal for creeping suspense. As the body count mounts, there are a couple of opportunities for the viewer to take a deep breath and for the story to swiftly address character arcs, but the truth is, nothing can dull the carnage.
In a film that prioritizes simple, mean-spirited action over the development of its protagonists, Convery manages to shine as Kevin, a towering presence with a disconcerting lack of empathy. Arthur fills the more detailed role of the activist group well, while his companions fit the various genre archetypes many of us know and love. The performances from the entire cast aren't bad, but chaos almost always prevails, and any nuance tends to be overshadowed by some poor soul taking a makeshift spear to the back, for example.
So, after an hour of escalating mayhem, will RKSS land the show? The trio doesn't seem to have any flaws in the final act, applying their artistry to a confident and tense climax that offers more than its share of gruesome twists, closes with a remarkable final shot worth the price of admission, and then sidesteps the expected credits to deliver a shamelessly dark and funny epilogue.
Wake Up may fall far short of redefining horror cinema, but it's a short, sometimes sharp and suspenseful film that appeals to the crowd, abandoning its potential for social commentary to focus on attractive teenagers being dismembered by a complete madman. Pair it with Ozploiter's Dangerous Game from the 1980s for an interesting "then and now" experience.
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