Morto em 3 Dias

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...

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.

5 friends just pass some grueling oral examination and graduate. At a party they all get the same SMS telling them that in 3 days they will be dead. And sure enough one of them is attacked and disappears. Two of the girls find him the next day drowned in the lake.

Another of the girls is later attacked, kidnapped, but with the help of another schoolmate who would like to join their clique she manages to escape. The schoolmate isn't that lucky. But at least she was able to see the face of the killer.

The police make a sketch and identify the killer she saw. It's someone who's been long dead. But the girl remembers something else. He's the father of a boy the kids new as children.

When 2 more kids are attacked finally the police tries to protect them. But they decide to go and investigate the house of the dead man where they find all sorts of secrets. In the end they confront the killer and the reasons are revealed.

Dead in 3 Days is a pretty decent Austrian horror movie. The kids are likable enough even though neither they nor the police act particularly rational given the circumstances. There is some good gore and it features the best use of a fish tank in a horror movie. Direction is good but there are some weaknesses as well- too many extreme closeups, the action is also filmed too close up that makes it hard to identify what is going on. Sounds effects are good but too loud.

Overall, an OK horror movie in a different setting and with an attractive and likable cast.

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")

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.