Wake Up

I was having a horror film weekend this weekend and started off with this and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting bad acting and no good story or deaths but I can say I was wrong. Most if the character's were good especially the main security guard, the only ones acting I thought was bad was the jock in it lol. Anyway the story made sense and the deaths were eventful. I like jumpy horrors and edge of your seat ones and i felt at times this film had both and right till just before the end. There was also twist so this film wasn't boring and did keep me entertained the whole way through. It's defo worth a watch.

A Canadian, French film. A group of young environmental activists vandalize a pseudo IKEA superstore as it is closing. Their plan goes horribly wrong as they become trapped inside the store being picked off one by one, as they are fighting for their lives by a deranged security guard who has a knack for primitive hunting. As the night ensues and the teenagers try to find a way out, some come to the realization that they are doomed. Overall a good slasher horror film that I would definitely recommend to my friends and family. The acting was ok, with the special effects. The story had me engrossed, good job.

Trying to raise awareness for the cause, a group of activists decide to sneak into a shopping mall after hours to spread awareness for their cause, but when they realize that they're being hunted by a deranged security guard looking to eliminate trespassers putting them in his path and must get away.

This was a fairly fun and enjoyable enough genre effort. One of the better aspects here is a strongly topical political commentary throughout the storyline that makes for an intriguing time. The idea of the kids as radical as they are taking to outright vandalism for their protests which works well at explaining their take on the radicalized march for action they think they're taking that emboldens them to go through the act of breaking into the store after hours and begin spray-painting slogans and symbols all over the place. Even getting the conversation points about why they're there to help protect animals and using their anger at the corporate greed to allow it to continue helps to spur their reaction further. Realizing that the deranged hunter has a similar setup involving the background given to him about his trying mental state and desire for fulfilling that aspect he has, there's a fun storyline in play for this one. That gives the film a strong background for the series of strong and overall effective stalking scenes within the building, featuring some impressive moments of the killer guard stalking after the group. Using the hunting skills he claims he has, the ability to set traps for the group, make them feel off and unbalanced while stuck inside the darkened building, and get taken out with ruthless force and intensity makes for a generally fun time. The kills are generally kept to a more simplified nature, yet make up for it with a more brutal execution, making for a fun time here and enough to overcome the few lacking elements on display. The simple characterization drawn up for everyone barely makes much of an impression on who they are, which causes the group to get muddled quite easily, so the effective build-up of their protests starts to lose weight the longer they're stuck inside. Likewise, the continuing irritation of characters popping back up after what should've been death blows for the sake of a surprise grows tiresome when it's repeated constantly, making for enough to hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

... well not to party, but to demolish stuff ... for the greater good (?) ... in any case: no pun intended as always. You may be surprised to see the makers of this ... well quite serious movie ... especially considering the stuff they did before ... be it Turbo Kid or We are Zombies ... both had violence in them, no doubt about that ... but they were also made with a lot of humor ... more light so to speak! This affair right here, has quite the different tone.

The main villain is or rather should not be left unsupervised in society ... but not just that ... he also has a job that has him to deal with customers ... well at first. His boss moves him or his shift to night, when there is no one who will complain about him ... or is there? Well wouldn't be a movie if it were too easy, right? Rhetorical question of course.

So if you don't mind the violence and the tone (or maybe you even cherish that those kids who always know it better will get theirs ... I do not agree with that sentiment, just saying) ... the movie will serve you well ... and be entertaining enough ... including one scene at the start of the end credits ... not for the faint hearted indeed.

Quick review: One of my favourite things in a well crafted movie is when you can relate to (and perhaps even side with) the villain or antagonist. In 'Wake Up', for the majority of the film, I wasn't even sure which side or character was supposed to be the antagonist. By the end it seemed slightly more clear which side the filmmakers were intending, however I can assure you I was on the other side. It was a well done film in that respect.

I love that this feels like a film where no one is safe and nothing is off limits. Anything can and will happen by the end of the film. The final scene was just the beautiful icing on the cake. I enjoyed this one. 7/10.