I Woke Up Early The Day I Died

''I Woke Up Early the Day I Died'' is a 1998 American camp black comedy film, based on an unproduced screenplay written by Edward D. Wood Jr. in 1974. Wood originally wrote the script in 1961 as ''Silent Night'', then rewrote it in 1974 as ''I Awoke Early the Day I Died'', but he died before he could get it filmed.

The 1998 film, directed by Aris Iliopulos, stars Billy Zane, Tippi Hedren, Ron Perlman, Sandra Bernhard, Karen Black, Eartha Kitt, Summer Phoenix, and Christina Ricci, among many others who appear in cameos. The film has no dialogue, containing only atmospheric sounds, alternating bursts of laughter, and screams. Several of Wood's collaborators from the 1950s were featured in bit parts, including Maila Nurmi, Conrad Brooks, David Ward, and Wood's widow Kathy O'Hara Wood.

In the film, a fleeing thief and murderer accidentally attend a strange funeral at a forbidden cemetery. He tries to hide his loot within the coffin, but falls unconscious and loses track of the stolen cash. He awakes determined to locate everyone present at the funeral, in hopes that he can retrieve the cash.

Plot

Overpowering a nurse and dressing in her clothes, a madman escapes from the Casa de la Loco Sanitarium. Now disguised as a healthcare worker, The Thief embarks on a violent crime spree across the city that nets him a gun, a car, a fortune in stolen cash, and leaves one dead loan office manager in his wake. His methodical approach to robbery and murder demonstrates both cunning and complete disregard for human life as he systematically targets financial institutions.

As he flees the murder scene with his ill-gotten gains, he comes upon a forbidden cemetery just as an elaborate burial ceremony is taking place. The funeral is unlike any conventional service—it is replete with haunting bagpipe music and a bizarre ritual employing mystical tuning forks and strange occult icons. The ceremony appears to be conducted by members of some esoteric cult, with participants dressed in ceremonial robes and following ancient traditions that seem both sacred and sinister.

As the enigmatic undertaker, the weathered cemetery caretaker, and an odd assortment of professional mourners slowly depart from the otherworldly service, The Thief cautiously peers into the ornate coffin. Believing it to be the perfect hiding place for his briefcase full of blood money, he approaches the burial site with calculated stealth. The coffin contains a skeleton draped in ceremonial robes, surrounded by the ritual implements used in the strange funeral rites.

However, when he strikes the mystical tuning fork that has been buried alongside the robe-draped skeleton, supernatural forces are unleashed. Ethereal bagpipe music suddenly fills the air with an otherworldly resonance, throwing him into violent convulsions as if possessed by malevolent spirits. The heavy coffin lid slams shut with supernatural force, trapping his money inside the grave, while The Thief is hurled backwards into an adjacent open grave by the paranormal energy. The impact knocks him unconscious, leaving him vulnerable and separated from his stolen fortune.

When he finally awakens, disoriented and desperate, he discovers that his carefully planned heist has been undone by forces beyond his comprehension. Driven by greed and growing paranoia, he sets off on a murderous quest to systematically track down everyone who had been present at the mysterious funeral ceremony. His hope is that by interrogating or eliminating each witness, he can uncover the location of his missing cash and retrieve what he believes is rightfully his. However, his increasingly violent methods ensure that anyone who gets in his way during this obsessive pursuit becomes another victim of his homicidal rampage.

Cast

* Billy Zane as The Thief
* Ron Perlman as Cemetery Caretaker
* Tippi Hedren as Maylinda Austed / Professional Mourner
* Andrew McCarthy as Cop
* Will Patton as Undertaker
* Max Perlich as Assistant Undertaker
* John Ritter as Robert Forrest / Professional Mourner
* Karen Black as Honey Child
* Sandra Bernhard as Sandy Sands / Professional Mourner and Stripper
* Eartha Kitt as Cult Leader
* Ann Magnuson as Loan Secretary
* Abraham Benrubi as Bouncer
* Christina Ricci as Teenage Hooker
* Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Boy At Beach
* Michael Greene as Tom Harris, Professional Mourner / Barfly
* Roberta Hanley as Housewife
* Rain Phoenix as Bartender #1
* Summer Phoenix as Bartender #2 / Girl At The Beach
* Tara Reid as Prom Queen / Nightclub Bartender
* David Ward as Cruiser Cop #1
* Rick Schroder as Cruiser Cop #2
* Nicollette Sheridan as Ballroom Woman
* Gregory Sporleder as Loan Manager
* Steven Weber as Policeman In Alley
* Kathleen O'Hara Wood as Woman At Carnival
* Billie Worley as Fat Taxi Driver
* Lee Arenberg as Parking Lot Attendant
* Mark Boone Junior as Cop #3
* Conrad Brooks as Cruise Cop #3
* Leif Garret as Cruiser Cop #4
* Dana Gould as Carnival Barker
* Michael G. Hagerty as Flop House Manager
* Denice D. Lewis as Star Stripper
* Maila Nurmi as Woman In Hotel Lobby
* Bud Cort as Shopkeeper Lord Heinrich "Binky" Alcoa III (uncredited)

Production

Shortly after the release of the Tim Burton biopic ''Ed Wood'' in 1994, a renewed interest in Wood's work led to the script for "I Woke Up Early the Day I Died" getting optioned by first-time filmmaker Aris Iliopulos. Iliopulos got actor Billy Zane interested in the project. Zane agreed to star in and co-produce the film. During filming, the filmmakers used many techniques that Wood himself would use, such as including stock footage to save on filming expenses.

Release

The film premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, but attracted no interest from potential distributors. In September 1999, the film received one screening in New York at the now-defunct Screening Room. Within a week, the film's distributor, Cinequanon Pictures International, Inc., folded due to financial issues, and the film never had a wider American theatrical release. The film was also shown at the 2000 B-Movie Film Festival, where it won several awards. The company's legal problems have precluded commercial American home video and DVD release.

Reception

The film received negative reactions by fans and critics alike, achieving a 27% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 11 reviews. Many criticized Iliopulos's failure to recreate Wood's innocent ineptitude at filmmaking, including Owen Gleiberman of ''Entertainment Weekly'', who said the movie "never truly finds a way to evoke ood'sfractured hard-boiled syntax, his inimitable idiocy". Film critic Phil Hall commented that the film's mistake was to play up its camp factor instead of taking Wood's straightforward approach. He said this approach "missed the point of the charm that Wood’s films possessed: they were so serious and sincere that in their incompetence they gained a belated charm, pleasing those who love so-bad-they’re-good flicks. Whereas Wood cast bad actors who tried (and failed) to give good performances, Iliopulous cast credible actors and instructed them to give intentionally bad performances. Thus everyone is in ham heaven, with the entire cast rolling their eyes, sneering their lips, doing wild double takes and gasping as if they’ve been stuck in the posterior with a safety pin."

Music

The instrumental soundtrack for the film was composed by Larry Groupé and recorded and mixed by John Kurlander.

Instrumental soundtrack listing

#"Escape!" – 2:05
#"My Kingdom For A Hot Dog" – 2:15
#"My Ears Hurt" – 1:20
#"Parking Booth Fight" – 0:54
#"The Bank Job Tango" – 3:30
#"Scaffold Dream" – 2:40
#"Cult Waltz & Processional" – 3:57
#"Caretaker's Lament" – 1:51
#"Cemetery Knight" – 1:42
#"Coppers" – 1:21
#"Journey Continues" – 0:45
#"Where's The Money?" – 0:58
#"Caretaker's Death" – 1:18
#"Mausoleum" – 1:30
#"The Coffin Has No Money" – 2:23
#"Shack Attack" – 2:16
#"Purse Snatch" – 1:29
#"Desperation" – 2:03
#"Head Over Heels" – 1:20
#"Torment And Woe" – 1:59
#"Journey Smoke" – 1:03
#"Long Ride Home" – 1:00
#"Bagpipes Of Death" – 3:36

Additional music

There is additional music featured in the film that was not composed by Groupé. These songs were never released in compilation as a soundtrack to the film. The songs include " Jesus I Was Evil" by Darcy Clay, "Puttin' and Takin'" by The Ink Spots, "Bink e Bink" by Lisa Zane, "Anywhere I Hang My Heart" by Eartha Kitt, "Nature Boy" by Nat King Cole, and "Temper" by Goldie.

See also

* Ed Wood filmography

References

Sources

* ''The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.'' (1996), documentary film directed by Brett Thompson
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External links

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{{Ed Wood

1998 films
1990s serial killer films
1998 black comedy films
1990s psychological films
American black comedy films
American psychological films
American serial killer films
Films about murderers
Films scored by Larry Groupé
Films with screenplays by Ed Wood
Psychological comedy films
Films without speech
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
Films set in cemeteries
English-language black comedy films
English-language crime films