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.