Naman Shrestha
With Filip Zylber occupying the director’s chair, ‘Kill Me If You Dare’ is a Polish romantic comedy film that acquaints us with a newly married couple Natalia and Piotr who begin the next chapter of their lives together. The pair, who are yet to get over the celebration of their wedding, receive more reasons for celebrating when they get lucky enough to win a lottery ticket with a grand cash prize. They begin imagining what their life will be once they get their hands on the prize, and tell their respective best friends.
Soon, manipulated by the friends, greed takes over Natalia and Piotr, both of whom come up with several plans to kill each other in order to have the money all to themselves. Originally titled ‘Zabij Mnie, Kochanie,’ the comedy movie features impressive performances from a group of talented Polish actors, including Weronika Książkiewicz, Mateusz Banasiuk, Agnieszka Więdłocha, Piotr Rogucki, and Paulina Gałązka. The vindictive nature portrayed through the lead characters is something that is present in many real-life partners as well, of course, in different degrees. Other than that, the true-to-life themes of greed and manipulation also play a crucial role in making some of you wonder if ‘Kill Me If You Dare’ is rooted in reality or not.
Kill Me If You Dare is Not Based on a Real Couple
No, ‘Kill Me If You Dare’ is not based on a true story. The screenwriter supposedly tapped into some of the realistic yet toxic traits involved in a marriage and friendship and utilized their brilliant penmanship and creative mind to craft a funny, gripping, and seemingly authentic screenplay. In real life, a lottery win has allegedly become the source of friction in several marriages or any familial relationship for that matter. For instance, just a year after winning the lottery ticket, in late July 2021, 31-year-old Tiffani Hill was murdered by her newly wedded husband John Donato alongside their daughter Leanne.
Tiffany won more than $2 million from a scratch-ogg lottery ticket in November 2020, and just a few months later, she married John Donato and moved to Oklahoma. Over the next few months, the lottery winnings ignited several arguments between the couple, which seemingly led to the double murder-suicide case. The vindictive equation between a married couple shown in ‘Kill Me If You Dare’ has also been a predominant theme of other film and TV projects. One of the aptest examples has to be that of the 2021 Norwegian action comedy movie ‘The Trip,’ which stars Aksel Hennie, Noomi Rapace, Atle Antonsen, Christian Rubeck, André Eriksen, and Nils Ole Oftebro.
Co-written and helmed by Tommy Wirkola, the narrative centers upon a dysfunctional married couple — Lisa and Lars — who have difficulty connecting with each other. So, they decide to stay at an isolated cabin for a weekend, but both of them have murder on their minds. However, each of their plans backfires when they realize that some convicts have been phrogging in the attic of the cabin. As the criminals take the couple hostage, Lisa and Lars must put aside their differences and focus on breaking free from their captors.
Originally titled ‘I Onde Dager,’ the thriller film draws several similarities from the Polish movie in question, whether it is the equation between the couples or the fact that they both take a trip where most of the action goes down. Thus, taking all the above-mentioned factors into consideration, we can come to the conclusion that ‘Kill Me If You Dare’ might be filled with hints of true-to-life elements and themes, but it doesn’t change the fact that the story in itself is a work of fiction.
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