Another repeating day movie is upon us! 6:45, the new psychological thriller from Dark Ride director Craig Singer, traps our lead characters on a seemingly endless time loop. The day itself is a double-edged sword. It always begins at 6:45am, in the throes of passionate sex, always in the coziness of the quaint small beach town, Bog Grove. There is one major problem: the recurring motif of Larry (Thomas G. Waites) getting his neck snapped, and his girlfriend Jules (Augie Duke) ending up with a slit throat. 6:45 lacks the charm of a film like Happy Death Day or the clever scripting of Palm Springs. It relies on one’s connection to a flimsy, unlikable lead in Larry, but mostly, it just suffers from being far too predictable.
“We’re gonna have a magical weekend!” turns out to be a very false statement. The first time they are murdered, Larry appears to awaken from a nightmare, just after seeing the box cutter slice open Jules. When chatting with Gene (Armen Garo), their creepy benefactor, he realizes in horror that his dream has happened before. Some years back, a couple was murdered in a double homicide in the same fashion as Larry’s dream! They never caught the guy or found any physical evidence. Could the town’s history be linked to their horrific circumstances?
The filmmaking technique in the freak-out sequences evoke director Darren Lynn Bousman—particularly, his work on the Saw films. When 6:45 develops a fleeting, manic energy, the movie is at its finest. Weird aspects Larry uncovered become significant, like a hair on the soap bar. An hours-long sex montage is funny and feels almost out of place here. 6:45 is mainly just repetitive and structurally exhausting. It offers fleeting moments of entertainment, yet it will be hollow for those craving a tighter narrative.
6:45 traps you in its loop when it opens nationwide, exclusively at Regal theatres Friday, August 6th.
