You don’t usually think of certain Swedish home décor places to be ground zero for horror films. But, the latest from Turbo Kid directors, 1,2,3 return to once again embody the 1980s and the films we loved from the era. Wake Up places us in a cross-pollination of brutal slashers and big action set-piece films.
Wake Up is king at bringing on the unexpected and serving it up with a nice range of brutal and creative kills. For the most part, the entirety of the film is spent inside of a home décor establishment. One night a gang of GenZ activists decide to hide in the building past closing in order to vandalize the place to prove their cause of the week. Little do they know one of the security guards is like Jason Voorhees with Rambo like knowledge of handmade weapons and traps. It doesn’t take long for things to begin to get out of hand.
Once things take off Wake Up doesn’t let up for a second. It is filled with pulse-pounding thrills and plenty of inventive and gory kills. All of this takes place as these young folks are trying to get the hell out of the store alive, all while the unhinged security guard Kevin has filled the store with a ton of traps.
One scene, in particular, takes the horror cake award for being very gnarly and very cool. It takes place when the group of kids stumbles into a trap of Kevin’s. The kiddos are doused with a bunch of fluid. So, my horror encyclopedia of a brain thinks, it might be gas and that Kevin is going to have a Gen Z BBQ. But, Wake Up manages to surprise once again. It is revealed when the lights are all cut off and the kids are standing around in pitch black that you reveal the liquid was glow-in-the-dark paint. This lights Kevin’s prey up for him to see as he moves in the shadows. The effect is very cool looking and was done 100 percent practically by the awesome filmmaking team.
The team of directors behind Turbo Kid are also responsible for another trip back to 80s slashers with Wake Up. The awesome team consists of Anouk Whissell, François Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. All of whom exist firmly in the world of 80s horror and action films. A team that film fans can place their faith in. Because once again, Wake Up is a complete blast from classic slasher past.
Horror movies are consistently better when they end on down notes. For whatever reason watching the good guy win and save the day in a horror film isn’t a good look. Now, when the good guys die or can’t save the day or end up without legs or some such thing, it becomes a lot better and more memorable of a film. I don’t want to give anything away but during the Q and A at Fantastic Fest the very rad and energetic Yoann-Karl Whissell hit everyone in the audience with the very real fact that everyone, everywhere will die eventually. That is exactly the mindset you want on a horror film and the team makes sure to keep things fun and full of death.
Wake Up presents us with GenZ ideals and sets them loose against an unstoppable First Blood like force of nature. Watching Kevin use handmade traps and weapons to take down activists is a guilty pleasure and a hell of a lot of fun. Inventive kills, gore, and the bloodthirsty Kevin make this film an all-out explosive good time. Oh, and we guarantee that the final moments in this film will put your jaw on the floor.