Hora do Massacre

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.

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.

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.

Wake Up comes with an interesting and initially promising concept, offering a storyline that makes us think about extremism and its consequences, both from the activists' side and the security guards, who defend their work with questionable tactics. The film seems like it wants to explore this tension, questioning just how "right" or "moral" each side really is. But as it goes on, it quickly becomes clear that this potential for reflection is left unexplored and stays on the surface. It's a pity, as Wake Up had the chance to touch on relevant themes, but it misses the mark by not going deeper.

The plot is straightforward: a group of activists break into an IKEA-like store overnight to stage a protest. Tension rises when they realize they're being hunted by a security guard with homicidal tendencies. From here, the movie takes a classic slasher route, where the main objective is simply for the characters to survive while being hunted by a relentless killer. It's a well-worn formula we've seen many times, so from a narrative standpoint, Wake Up doesn't bring anything new to the genre.

The biggest issue is precisely that predictability. I felt like I knew exactly what was coming, with no twists or surprises to change those expectations. The film doesn't try to innovate or challenge slasher stereotypes. Instead, it sticks to them closely, making it feel predictable and, at times, a bit monotonous. It's not poorly executed-the production is solid, and the setting works-but it lacks the originality that would set it apart from so many similar films.

Even so, there is one standout moment. In one of the film's most memorable scenes, the characters are covered in glow-in-the-dark paint, making them easy targets for the killer. This scene in the dark is visually interesting and really captured my attention. It's the high point of the film, and I feel that if there were more of this kind of creativity in other scenes, the experience could have been much more engaging.

However, Wake Up doesn't go beyond a very basic horror thriller that meets the minimum requirements for entertainment but doesn't quite impress. In short, it's neither good nor bad; it entertains, but it's unlikely to leave a lasting impact.

If you just went to the Ikea store and you feel you still didn't get enough of it you can give this movie a go as it looks like it's been shot there. I guess they had to remove all Björks and Knutts to replace them by something similar, but it's clearly inspired by the Ikea franchise. Nothing wrong with that if it was a good movie, which it isn't by the way, unless you don't mind a guy getting his head bashed in, losing liters of blood and apparently not being dead as he pops up a bit later in the story without a single drop of blood spatter. Or another kid getting speared by a kitchen knife in the spine but still able to walk around like nothing happened. It's just too ridiculous for me. A bit of slashing, I can live with that, even enjoy it, but dead is dead to me, so when they are still functioning normally after being slashed I'm losing interest.