Deadin3Days

Dead in 3 Days (2006)

This is an interesting German take on a slasher movie. Here we have a group of 5 friends that all receive a text message on their phones that they will be dead in 3 days. No one takes it seriously until one of them turns up at the bottom of the lake tied to a concrete block. From there on out they find themselves being stalked by an unknown killer for reasons they can’t explain. As the movie goes along they do finally figure out who is out to get them, but will it be in time to prevent all of their deaths?

This is a solid movie that doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel. It borrows heavily on the conventions of the slasher movie, while mixing it up a bit. For example you have the killer that has a past grudge with the kids, one that they don’t even remember. That is very old school, but then the use of the cell phones is a cool new twist. But in the end this is really nothing more than a stalk and kill, which isn’t too bad. Though I will admit most of the good stuff happens in the last 15 minutes or so, the movie really isn’t ever boring. The movie also provides some false clues that do a good job at derailing a jaded viewer like myself who was trying to figure the thing out. The cast is decent, but again this script isn’t asking them to do much other than run around a bit screaming. They do this nicely so no issues there.

I had hoped for some decent gore, but other than a death by fish tank things are pretty tame here. That said the few effects the movie has are all practical and on set, no CGI that I could tell. This includes a disturbing scene with a deer, a bit with a mast, and again a nice bit of beheading with what is on hand. But be warned if you are looking for a bloody gory mess this isn’t the movie for you. In fact the most disgusting thing in the movie is a rather nasty men’s room. The camera work and lighting are fairly decent. They do a good job of setting up a few jump scares and the scenes out at the lake are pretty damn spectacular. This is really a beautifully shot movie.

In doing my research I noticed that people kept comparing this to the run of 90s movies like I know what you did Last Summer and the movies like this. I guess I can see where they are coming from. But as I was watching this unfold I clearly saw “inspiration” for the story coming from another movie that took place around a lake and featured a killer bumping off some attractive young adults, not that I’m saying this is as good. Can’t say much more without spoiling some of the movie. Bottom line for me is that this is a pretty decent little movie. Nothing new here, but worth checking out at least as a rental. This is available from the fine people over at Dimension Extreme. For more information check them out at http://www.dimensionextreme.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer