Wake Up and Die

I didn't know what to think when I picked up this Blu Ray. The title attracted me somehow and the almost full black cover, except for a naked girl, made it more attractive.

I must say that I was surprised by this flick even as it has only two actors in it. Nonetheless, I still wanted to know what was going on. And things didn't made it easier because we do follow Camilla (Andrea Montenegro) waking up naked in a bed, again and again. A violent circle were you have the feeling that you will be dying and that's exactly what it is all about.

Camilla never had a one-night stand before but waking up next to Darío (Luis Fernando Bohórquez) made her think how she ended up laying naked against a guy she doesn't know. From that point this horror becomes an arty horror that needs it's arty effects and editing. Not only that, by running around in a circle slowly you will know what the dark secret is behind the two.

It never is creepy but it do deliver a lot of nudity, in fact both do run for 90% full frontal. And it even does feel gratuitous. It becomes intriguing and sadistically with some shots full of red stuff, even both stabbed for example they both are making out.

It's only in the last reel that you will know what's going on. A bit funny but once they both told their story the brutality comes in again.

I could say that's a bit exploitation with questions unanswered and once they are solved new questions do come in. I liked it a lot but be advised that it really is art-horror and some geeks wont like it.

Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 4/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

While the concept idea behind this movie is interesting and presented quite well on the synopsis on the back of the DVD cover, then the movie turned out to be less than mediocre. And while the nature of the concept was repetitive, then the movie itself turned out to be bothersome.

It should be said that the acting was quite good, and there was a great performance load resting on the shoulders of Andrea Montenegro and Luis Fernando Bohorquez, as they were essentially the only two people performing in the movie. And they more than delivered, despite having a fairly weak script to work with.

"Wake Up and Die" (aka "Volver a morir") can easily be summarized as "Groundhog Day" with murder.

I was disappointed with the end result of this movie, as I had hoped for something more given a rather interesting and well-presented synopsis.

There was some pretty good camera-work and editing throughout the movie, but it wasn't sufficient to lift up the movie.