6:45 * (out of 5) (R) In this attempt at a horror/suspense flick, an attractive young couple (Augie Dukes, Thomas G. Waites) ferries to a weekend getaway on an island that supposedly thrives on tourism. The place looks quaint and charming, but it must be the off-season, since the weather is chilly, and hardly anyone is around. The two are trying to heal some recent rift. Idyllic plans come a cropper when the alarm goes off at the eponymous time their first morning, and both are brutally slain. That early wake-up repeats, leading to a seemingly endless Groundhog Day course of almost identical tragic outcomes that only Waites remembers. His series of efforts to prevent their daily demise comprises most of the running time.
While that setup could have played out intriguingly, it winds up far more annoying than suspenseful. Dukes has considerable appeal, and deserves better roles. But the more we get to know this couple, individually and as a duo, the less likely we are to give a damn about what’s really going on, and how it will turn out. How many times can we watch the same pair of gruesome murders before thumbs start to twiddle? Among all the script choices writer Robert Dean Klein could have made for how the dust settles on his subjects, it’s hard to imagine a poorer set. This premise might have been grist for one of those interactive products, allowing viewers to choose what happens next at several points. But the version we’re stuck with is eminently missable.
(On Digital and Blu-ray 3/22/22)