Sean Parker
When you see a new movie on the way out from Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, you have to get excited. Those names may look unfamiliar to some, but the directors make up two-thirds of directing trio RKSS and have been responsible for heavy genre hitters like Turbo Kid and Summer of 84. Seeing the trailer for the duo’s colorful latest endeavor, Wake Up, leaves an anticipatory impression, casting dark realism inside a fun, albeit surreal, situation. If you’re expecting to see black-and-white depictions of morality on display or a villain that’s easily toppled, you should reacquaint yourself with the intense dynamics of the directors’ earlier works and understand that Wake Up is a starkly gray tale of consumerism protections surpassing the rights of individuals.
A few years ago at the Chattanooga Film Festival, a film called Night Shift (now known as Hunt Her, Kill Her) played as the closing night film. The plot is simple: a new warehouse night guard is tested when she’s targeted by the people who work there. I immediately thought that Wake Up would follow a similar, though inverted, plotline, providing atmosphere and tension through hide-and-seek Die Hard-style mechanics. Wake Up is about a group of activists protesting an Ikea-esque retailer by squatting in a store after hours to wreak havoc on modular furniture while an increasingly psychotic nightwatchman takes things to a deadly new level, making the protesters The Most Dangerous Game. It sure sounds like an entertaining premise.
However, right from the start of the film, everything about the Whissells’ film feels derived from a multitude of sources, leading it to feel unoriginal, which is very surprising. I am a huge fan of Summer of 84. Rarely has a film intertwined the coming-of-age and horror dynamics to such a satisfying extent. But as Ethan (Benny O. Arthur) and his cohorts livestream their intentions while wearing origami paper masks in a van outside the store earlier in the day, there’s this weird pervading Purge atmosphere as we wait for the night to begin.
Of course, any viewer of Wake Up, like that of a Purge movie, is waiting for the security doors to close and the fun to begin. Yet, within the context of the film, it makes the non-violent protesters unlikeable. Not only are they vulgarly livestreaming their actions, siphoning subscriptions and likes from social media users, and possibly participating in a facet of the system they’re protesting, but their sheer excitedness to partake in a paint-based anarchic activity is diminutive of any altruistic intention.
With a rallying cry of a title, Wake Up suggests a woke mindset. While the term has been made politically pejorative by one side, it’s really an edification. Calling for knowledge and vigilance, though made politically partisan by essentially rolling the “sheeple” and “do your own research” sayings into efficiently crafted leftist slang. But I fear the film loses its way in trying to address the bipartisan blame for systemic issues, and there are a lot on the table here. Beginning with deforestation, the film subtly shifts to the over-assertiveness of police responses when capitalist institutions are made the mark. It also stokes conversation about the lack of affordability for mental healthcare. And, in trying to provide a see-saw of back-and-forth issues, Wake Up gets caught in the weeds.
Wake Up does consequences well, even if there is a subtle pull that Kevin’s sense of justice is skewed. But horror is about extremes. Seeing the protesters steal and vandalize property without care is undoubtedly meant to piss people off, evoking the austere response of dissenters to the Black Lives Matter protests. Seeing the effect of what Kevin is capable of is like watching tear gas get shot at protesters (it was outlawed by the Geneva Protocol in 1925). Or like that St. Louis couple pointing guns at fleeing protesters. Or the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse. There is such a thing as a disproportionate response.
Now, you may be saying to yourself, this all sounds rather nitpicky, and I agree. However, while I may be overcritical of the initial setup of the film, the characters never evolve enough to elevate their reasons for storming the store. The film features a thoroughly diverse cast, and it may have been a better tactic to pursue an audience connection with them. Instead, the filmmakers angle the movie’s villain, Resident Evil and House of the Dragon star Turlough Convery, with the most depth. Convery was the best part of Netflix’s Resident Evil series, and in Wake Up he embodies the abominable security guard, who has an affinity for primitive hunting, by portraying him through madness and malice. Though he may be the most interesting character in the film, focusing on the security guard’s plight while the young protesters run amuck sets up that two-sided argument that, unfortunately, doesn’t rise to the occasion of its Animal Farm satire of discord.
Convery’s security guard, Kevin, has a vivid backstory of hunting, engineering some basic traps and weapons with basic survival crafting skills, sporting a very Ralph Waldo Emerson philosophy of Self Reliance. Through momentary flashbacks, we see reflections of PTSD and a man who is having difficulty integrating into modern society. Through his relationship with his brother, Jack (Gateway’s Aidan O’Hare), he found the security guard gig, and a bit of an Of Mice and Men dynamic develops where Jack feels responsible for Kevin, who is likewise dependent on Jack’s abilities to navigate the sensitivities of the world. It’s also not very nuanced that the protesters have animal-oriented masks to tie together its literary tableaus.
Alternatively, I don’t know that anyone is expecting that deep of an experience when deciding to entertain themselves for Wake Up’s eighty-three minutes. As far as that goes, the film provides some fantastic moments. As the film approaches its climax, the stakes continue to rise as the protesters succumb to the myriad of booby traps and weaponry Kevin crafts. One scene involving phosphorescence makes for an exceptionally taut and visually arresting momentary experience. The kills, while graphic and occasionally brutal, do hold some appeal to horror-hound bloodlust. Still, there are enough holes, poor dialogue choices, and unintentionally laughable moments (like how Kevin undertakes the problem cell phone problem) bogging down tension and derailing Wake Up from reverence. I’m sure Wake Up will find its fans, but like We Are Zombies, RKSS’s Screambox original film from 2023, it doesn’t fully represent the directors’ talents the way Turbo Kid and Summer of 84 do.
Wake Up is now playing in theaters.
WAKE UP – Official Theatrical Trailer
Coming to theaters April 4, 2025 – From the directors of TURBO KID and SUMMER OF 84. A group of young activists set out to make an environmental statement by vandalizing a home superstore as it closes. But their plan goes terribly wrong when they become trapped inside and must face a deranged security guard with a gruesome passion for primitive hunting.
