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Dead by Dawn
USA 2020
produced by Linda Slade, Sean Cain, Jamie Bernadette, Erick Feigin (executive) for Silver Spider Investments, Velvet Hammer Films
directed by Sean Cain
starring Drew Lindsey Mitchell, Kelcey Watson, Jamie Bernadette, Bo Burroughs, Timothy Muskatell, Bobby Slaski, Detra Hicks, Skylar Dominique, Jessie Hales, Bruce Spargo
idea by Sean Cain, screenplay by Wes Laurie, music by Mario Salvucci, special makeup effects by Marina Coria
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Lulu (Drew Lindsey Mitchell) just wants to go to a Halloween party with
her boyfriend Shane (Bobby Slaski), instead the two get in a fight and she
leaves into a hurry, still wearing her Red Riding Hood costume, and gets
into the wrong cab ... Dylan (Kelcey Watson) just wants to blow his
brains out in his cabin in the woods when he gets distracted by pleas for
help and finds a bloodied up Lulu on his doorstep and lets her in. Soon
enough, two men, Neil (Bo Burroughs) and Chad (Timothy Muskatell), and a
woman, Snack (Jamie Bernadette), knock on his door and ask Dylan to
release Lulu to him, but he's quick to realize there's something fishy
about their request, and since he's still holding onto the gun from his
aborted suicide, they're quick to back off - but put the house under
siege. From Lulu, Dylan learns that the three have been sexually abusing
her, and of course would do anything to get her back. Now inside the cabin
they'll be safe for a while of course, but not forever, and Dylan's
ammonition for his gun's only very limited. And all they have to fall back
upon is the journal of Dylan's deceased daughter (Skylar Dominique)
detailing how to booby-trap a house in case of a zombie apocalypse. This
is of course better than nothing - but not much better, since their
opponents are a ruthless bunch ... True, Dead by Dawn
doesn't re-invent the wheel, and in its premise it's reminiscent of a
whole bunch of backwoods and home invasion thrillers from predominantly
the 1970s - but the film does what it does extremely well: It creates
maximum tension rather early and then never lets loose, it doesn't shy
away from violence, its villains are properly ruthless - but it's also
well-crafted, carefully structured to really build up to a finale rather
than just numb the viewer with an onslaught of brutality, and it features
interesting characters and character arcs. And of course a strong ensemble
cast also helps in making this a really cool genre movie.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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