New to Netflix this week is the Polish black comedy, Kill Me If You Dare (aka Zabij Mnie, Kochanie). Directed by Filip Zylber, the movie stars Weronika Ksiazkiewicz and Mateusz Banasiuk, and tells the story of a married couple who formulate plans to kill one another in order to obtain the winnings from a scratch card.
In the film, Natalia and Piotr had a whirlwind romance which ended in marriage, but now they’ve reached the stage of their relationship where things are not so rosey. He’s busy working, she’s getting irritated by little things he does, and their anniversary dinner is reduced to a quick bite to eat at lunchtime in a shopping mall.
At the end of their lunch break, Natalia and Piotr take a ride on a miniature carousel, which is operated by a woman selling scratch cards. The couple decide to buy one of the scratch cards, with Natalia paying the majority of the cost.
Later that day, Piotr scratches the card and discovers they have won five million złoty. The couple are understandably overjoyed at the win, and start thinking about how they plan to spend the money.
Piotr believes a long-term investment is the best way forward, possibly through the purchase of a rental apartment. Natalia has other ideas and wants to own a cafe and go on holiday.
Before any decision can be made about what to do with the money, Piotr cashes in the card, and brings the winnings home. The cash goes into a safe, and the couple continue on as usual.
However, the next day, both Natalia and Piotr become convinced their respective partner is trying to kill them, in order to take sole ownership of the money. Although they are both incorrect about their belief, they decide to get in first before the other one does them in.
Bright, breezy, and well intended, Kill Me If You Dare is a simple to watch film, which has its heart in the right place. The movie has a fun premise, a decent cast, and some beautifully shot scenes, and with its playful tone it has many of the right ingredients for a daft and likeable romp.
The problem is, it isn’t as funny as it wants to be, and it certainly isn’t as funny as it needs to be. Kill Me If You Dare fails to draw out any major laughs, and largely coasts along on its inoffensiveness.
The film basically needs to be wittier. There is so much potential for comedy in this picture, it really should take advantage of this, yet it struggles to get any jokes to land.
This is frustrating because the movie builds many opportunities for comedy into the story. There are set pieces where Natalia and Piotr are almost bumped off (rock climbing, a deadly dinner, etc) and yet none of these scenes go big or go wild.
Thankfully the film isn’t a total dud, and while it does feel like the basic premise has been neutered somewhat, it’s still perfectly OK to watch. Kill Me If You Dare isn’t going to rock anyone’s socks, but it is mildly diverting.
The cast seem to enjoy themselves, it looks good, and the final ten minutes are fun. So yeah, it’s alright, but I’m not sure it is going to entertain everyone.
The lack of comedy is a sticking point, and the winning scratch card angle feels dated (by about 30 years), but Kill Me If You Dare is fine in just enough places to get it over the line. It’s not amazing by any stretch, and this becomes clear within the first 20 minutes of the movie, but if the tone of the film works for you then you’ll find it perfectly acceptable.
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