A retail store resembling Costco or IKEA becomes the target of six young activists protesting animal cruelty related to the furniture sold there. They sneak into the building just before closing, conceal themselves until customers leave and the doors are locked, then vandalize the premises with animal blood and spray paint. Kevin (played by Turlough Convery) works as a security guard alongside his brother Jack (Aidan O’Hare). Kevin is on the night shift, a last chance to keep his job after previously losing his temper with customers. After discovering the activists' damage, Kevin and Jack confront them. A serious accident pushes Kevin past his breaking point. No longer concerned about potential termination, he begins hunting down the activists and killing them. Their only hope is to survive until morning when the store reopens. Directed by Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, also known as RKSS (known for Turbo Kid, Summer of ’84, and We Are Zombies), *Wake Up* feels like a drama punctuated by sporadic moments of horror. The film centers on Kevin’s struggle to retain his employment while Jack grapples with his own vices and attempts to keep Kevin under control. A considerable amount of screen time is also devoted to the activists' destruction of the store, but they come across as foolish, uninteresting, and ultimately forgettable. Written by Alberto Marini based on an idea from Martin Soudan, *Wake Up* suffers because the activists lack depth. Some harbor desires for one another, and many are from privileged backgrounds, yet they largely appear to be unpleasant brats. During their operation, it remains unclear what their goal was beyond causing damage; one would expect a degree of stealth. At one point, about twenty minutes into the film, they stop for a food fight. Ethan (Benny O. Arther), supposedly the leader, suggests that having fun is acceptable while carrying out the mission. One of the female activists eventually puts on rollerblades, and their final act involves a paintball battle. The entire plan seems like something devised by a teenager. Even after Kevin starts killing them, *Wake Up* fails to deliver inventive deaths or build suspense as these young people are hunted. In one scene, Karim (Tom Gould) hides in a bathroom stall, leaving his shoes behind, crawling under multiple stalls, only to be impaled with a makeshift spear. Most of the killings involve predictable knife stabbings—to the back, gut, or eye—as well as repeated slamming against a wall until death, strangulation, and neck-breaking. Each demise feels commonplace. A highlight is when the remaining survivors are lured into a freezer to retrieve a friend they believed was deceased; neon paint is then dumped on them and the lights go out, allowing Kevin to hunt them in darkness thanks to the black light effect of the paint. The conclusion also leaves something to be desired. The characters aren’t likable, but even so, the story's resolution feels questionable. The final sequence seems bizarre, as if created simply for the filmmakers’ amusement. *Turbo Kid* proved to be a highly enjoyable film, yet RKSS hasn’t quite managed to replicate that success. *Wake Up* had potential to be entertaining if the deaths were more imaginative and the characters possessed some nuance; it feels like an incomplete project—the start of something promising with a middle and end lacking imagination or originality.

Source on TMDB