“Wake Up” follows a group of young environmental activists who become trapped inside a home superstore with a deranged security guard after their night of vandalism turns horribly wrong.

At only 83 minutes long, “Wake Up” wastes no time. There is no bloated buildup or lore. Instead, the film dives right into the central storyline immediately. This is both good and bad.

“Wake Up” suffers from this minimalistic approach to some degree. Mostly because there’s really no one to root for. Both the activists and security guards are “bad,” and the flick makes no attempts to introduce any positive character development. This makes it a challenge to invest in the story when it appears that everyone is in the wrong.

Alongside the unlikable characters is the fact that it doesn’t hyper-focus on any one of them. Instead, the six activists fight for screen time, and none of them ultimately stand out.

“Wake Up” is a movie that asks the audience to suspend disbelief. There are 100 different scenarios that this story could’ve gone in to avoid a carnage-filled disaster. The film adopts a go-with-the-flow approach that sees many questionable character decisions and conveniences carry the plot forward.

While the overall experience is a frustrating one, “Wake Up” does feature several fun sequences. Effective practical effects make for gore-filled fun, with a combination of hand-to-hand fighting and traps taking people out.

“Wake Up” isn’t interested in choosing sides. Instead, it asks the audience to make that decision on its own. This approach results in a disjointed effort that doesn’t have stakes. While “Wake Up” may breeze by, it doesn’t leave its mark.

Rating: 2 out of 5