In 3 Tagen bist du tot

Ah, Austria ... Unquestionably one of the most beautiful countries in the world and the cinematic home of the famous "Sissi"-movies, millions of vintage Tiroler sex comedies and probably a handful of thankfully obscure yodel musicals as well. And thanks to director Andreas Prochaska, Austria now also has its very own teen-slasher-movie! Prochaska clearly was fed up with the enchanting postcard-image reputation of his home country and uses the exact same picturesque lakes and flowery decorated mountain hotels as the hunting territory of a demented serial killer. "Dead in Three Days" blends together the prior-warning idea of "The Ring" with the more traditional and old-fashioned maniacal tendencies of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and the wholesome results in an overall competent, albeit unmemorable new horror film. On their long-awaited day of university graduation, five close friends all receive the same text message on their mobile phones. In three days you'll be dead, which naturally sounds like a lame college prank. Of course, it isn't a joke and the teenagers quickly find themselves pursued by a killer who has an old score to settle with the clique. "Dead in Three Days" is too slow-paced to really compete with the vintage slashers of the 80's and the script spends too much time on the detailed character drawings. The plot as well as the killer's outfit is too derivative of many existing slashers – especially the aforementioned IKWYDLS – and there nearly isn't enough tension and/or spectacle. The gore-factor and killing scenes are unmemorable, with the exception of one awesomely grim decapitation sequence! "Dead in Three Days" is okay entertainment for avid slasher-fans to pass the time but, of course, if it wouldn't be for the fact that Austria has few or even no history in the genre of horror, this mundane teenkill-film would barely even make it to DVD.

As mentioned before this movie probably is the first one of its kind to be made in Austria by Austrians artists only. Austria's good times in the movie industry have long been gone and modern Austrian filmmakers concentrate mainly on producing artistic stuff that relies heavily on the actors (mostly due to funding problems). So this film is quite different from what is coming from Austria nowadays but it's not so different from what is coming from Hollywood. That's a new approach and that's OK. In my opinion the movie is better than the average Scary Movie flick. The story is quite straightforward, the ending is adept though not too surprising. The gory scenes come at the times you expect them to come. Sometimes you know what is going to happen before but that's what we call suspense and if it was good enough for Hitchcock it's good enough for everyone. And it works here too! The movie doesn't stay on a high level of tension all the time. It speeds up then slows down then speeds up again several times. Nice flow. The director does a really good job and I especially appreciated the cinematography. Some really nice pictures, good camera positioning. The cutting was good too and makes the movie look more expensive and professional than it was.

The young actors are mostly unknown but mostly talented and add to the overall positive impression the film made on me.

I enjoyed watching the film although it's not a perfect piece of work (therefore my score of 7/10) but judge for yourself. Let's hope there will be more to see from the people who made this movie. I think there is still a lot of potential to explore.

In Ebensse, the teenagers Nina (Sabrina Reiter), her boyfriend Martin (Laurence Rupp), Clemens (Michael Steinocher), his girlfriend Alex (Nadja Vogel) and Mona (Julia Rosa Stöckl) are best friends since their childhood. On their high-school graduation day, they all receive the same message in the cellular: "In three days you will be dead!", but they believe is a stupid joke from their weird schoolmate Patrick (Julian Sharp). However, when Martin is found dead in the lake Traunsee, the group realizes that it is not a prank. When Nina is attacked and Patrick is killed trying to save her, they recall a tragic incident from their childhood.

"In 3 Tagen Bist Du Tot" has a tense and promising beginning. The acting of the young and unknown cast is good, but unfortunately the story is weak, actually a rip-off of the franchise "I Know What You did Last Summer" and using the clichés of the genre. In the end, this flick is watchable and forgettable, but entertains. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Morto em 3 Dias" ("Dead in 3 Days")

In 3 Tagen Bist Du Tot (Dead in Three Days) is labeled "Austria's first horror film". A quite passable one, I might add. It probably won't become a milestone within the genre, but if you're looking for real suspense and gore, this movie has plenty to offer.

Like many others, the film features a group of teenagers, more precisely two boys and two girls who have just graduated high school. While they're out celebrating, they all receive the same SMS: "Within 3 days you will be dead". It has to be a (very) bad joke, they think. Until one of them is found dead in the river the following morning...

I was positively surprised by this movie, mainly because the director, Andreas Prochaska (a former collaborator of Michael Haneke) knows how to terrify his audience even if the plot is all too familiar: 75% of the screenplay is shamelessly borrowed from other horror films, some blatantly (I Know What You Did Last Summer, Deep Red), others in a more subtle way (Halloween). There's also stuff from other kinds of flicks (a possible visual The Empire Strikes Back-reference).

Prochaska does, however, count on the surprise factor as well: not all in the script is a deja vu, and he takes advantage of those moments when we don't know what's gonna happen next to scare us witless, with almost sadistic joy (in terms of how off guard we're caught). People get hurt or killed in painful, stomach-churning ways (I had trouble sleeping for a few days after seeing the movie), and some victims are unexpected, too. This guy knows how to do horror, that's for sure. If only he'd been a little nastier with the ending, like Greg McClean did on Wolf Creek.

Overall, this is a decent horror film. Prochaska seems to have found a promising start for his directing career. If he takes better care of the script next time, he might even be able to join the likes of Carpenter and Romero in the genre's Hall of Fame.

DEAD IN 3 DAYS is a vengeful, maniac-on-the-loose film from Austria.

A group of young, beautiful friends are being stalked and killed in nasty fashion after receiving the titular text messages. At first glance, this is a clone of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. However, look closer, and it is superior to that movie in pacing, which is slower and far more suspenseful. There is also a gloomier atmosphere that adds to the overall creep factor.

The characters are more believable as well. Do they make some "dumb" decisions? Sure, like almost every twenty-something in every slasher film ever made! As for the killer, there's a grim determination about the way in which this person dispatches victims, and while the final revelation may not be too surprising, it is handled in an interesting way. A pleasant surprise...