Cat-and-Mouse Horror Thriller Play Dead (PANIC) Stretches Concept to the Limit

Title: Play Dead

First Non-Festival Release: TBD

Director: Carlos Goitia

Writer: Gonzalo Mellid, Camilo Zaffora

Runtime: 72 Minutes

Starring: Paula Brasca, Milagros Ribet, Luca Espindola

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Panic Film Festival in 2025.

The idea of waking up somewhere other than your bed is disconcerting to say the least. When you wake up in the lair of a serial killer, however, it takes the already terrifying concept and makes it ten times worse. Thankfully, most will never come close to experiencing something so horrific.

Unfortunately, this is what Allison (Paula Brasca) awakens to after getting kidnapped. Waking up in the basement of a masked killer, Allison must work quickly to escape. With each time the killer returns, she must act as if she was dead along with the rest of the women piled up in the center of the floor.

A tense, low-budget psychological horror, Play Dead delivers scares despite its repetitive nature.

Lacking much dialogue due to its setup, there are only so many avenues for Play Dead to develop Allison and the killer beyond their archetypal roles. So, Play Dead sidesteps this by developing Allison through her actions. Resourceful enough to understand the stakes and her limits in the situation, Allison is written to be smart but not clairvoyant, strong but not impervious, and quick-witted but not flawless in her scheming. Much is gleaned from Allison thanks to her actions and, of course, Paula Brasca’s performance.

Much of the film falls on Brasca’s shoulders as Allison is alone for most of her screen time. Capable, though never show-stopping, Brasca puts her body through the wringer in what must have been a physically demanding role. Unafraid to get in the muck and gore of Allison’s insane situation, Brasca fully commits to the fast pace and swift violence of Play Dead. Her facial acting, however, leaves a bit more to be desired. Vacillating between a few stock emotions tied to fear, Brasca never seems to break out of the cycle. Outstripping the few other actors onscreen, Brasca deserves recognition for how much she accomplishes with the fate of the film in her hands.

Play Dead succeeds mostly in terms of its approach to building tension. Each time the killer wanders downstairs into his basement of horrors, it’s easy for the mind to wonder if the jig is up for Allison. Each time, Play Dead successfully redirects his attention without stretching believability too much. His lumbering frame, swift brutality with other victims, and the horrific implications of his torture chamber foreshadow a true night of terror for Allison if she’s caught. The team does an excellent job of making the most of the limited space and budget to make the horror of Play Dead come to life convincingly.  Understanding its geography so well becomes the film’s saving grace as Allison flails about in the darkness to escape.

While it does well in terms of its genre elements, Play Dead does get repetitive by the time it reaches its third act. The ineptitude of the killer gets comical at a certain point after having so many of his “dead” victims come to in a convenient show for Allison to escape his clutches. Going up and down stairs eventually stops being scary and starts activating eye rolls in the viewer. It’s only when Allison’s luck stretches too thin that Play Dead gets its mean streak back and the terror intensified accordingly. 

An enjoyable horror affair, Play Dead stretches its fun concept to its lengths while not overstaying its welcome too much. Tense and shocking, Play Dead understands its draw comes from its terrifying premise and capitalizes on its serial killer’s imposing stature and propensity of overlooking the red flags that Allison is still alive. This back and forth only gets tired right as Play Dead switches over into something different. By no means is Play Dead exceptionally well written or deep in character or commentary. It is a lean, mean slasher with enough well-executed scares to recommend to genre fans.

Overall Score? 6/10