Dylan Dog: Los muertos de la noche

The most aggravating movies, in my opinion, are the ones where the premise sounds like something that could make for a really awesome movie but the actual product falls completely flat. Dylan DOG is not a horrible movie, it's just another movie that might entertain a bit while you watch it...might elicit a chuckle at times...but overall is completely forgettable. It's based off an Italian graphic novel that I'd honestly never heard of, but might be interested in checking out to see if it's better than the movie. Dylan Dog is a private investigator in New Orleans who finds himself confronted by a part of his past that he thought he'd left behind. Before Dog began catering to the city's sleazy human population, he was an investigator for the paranormal citizens of the city: vampires, werewolves, and zombies all living quietly alongside us. When a werewolf appears to have murdered a human, Dog is drawn back in to his old life to investigate and uncovers a plot to unleash an ancient evil that could wreak havoc on the supernatural underworld before ultimately spilling over onto humanity.

I've seen this movie twice now and I can barely remember anything about it. That's not a good sign. I really thought this movie had the potential to be cool, but it feels more like a SyFy original movie. The story wanders and never builds tension. It just sort of meanders from one plot point to another, lazily following the trail of clues until the final confrontation. And the special effects...wow. I realize this film was a lower budget than usual (compared to your average Hollywood effects-heavy film) at $20 million, but come on. I've seen some pretty amazing films created out of budgets this size. DISTRICT 9 was only $30 million and that movie blew my mind with awesomeness. Dylan DOG's got a decent independent budget and the creature effects in this film feel twenty years old! For example, the "tattooed zombie", a major element of the film that couldn't be bothered with an actual identifying name, looks ridiculous. It's mouth barely moves and it's only means of intimidation is waving it's arms around like a weekly villain from the old "Power Rangers" TV show. I love practical special effects and I prefer some real well done practical creature effects over CGI anytime. But if you can't make a creature look like anything more than a bodybuilder in a bad Halloween mask, perhaps you should consider another option.

Dylan DOG is director Kevin Munroe's second film and, seeing as how his first film was the animated TMNT, I really don't know what I should've expected. TMNT was decent, but I suppose it's not hard to look better when the preceding film in the Ninja Turtle series had men in rubber turtle costumes riding horses. I have to wonder if the effects in this film were so poor, where did the budget go? It couldn't have been the cast. The movie is filled with "Hey, I know that guy from somewhere" level actors. Brandon Routh feels as if he should be A-list by now, but his project selections aren't letting him get far. He showed us he could do comedy with some great jobs in ZACK AND MIRI and SCOTT PILGRIM, but he feels flat here. A couple of one-liners, but mostly emotionless. Sam Huntington is the best part of the film as Dog's newly zombified sidekick Marcus. He gets the best parts of the film and I think the filmmakers realized this because he gets more screen-time than his character probably should. Peter Stormare, the actor with the most clout in the film, is wasted as the head of a werewolf clan and Taye Diggs doesn't feel like he's taking this thing seriously.

If I'd known ahead of time the film had given a part to pro wrestler Kurt Angle, at least I would've known what I was walking into. No offense, wrestling fans, but wrestlers suck as actors 99% of the time and Angle is no exception here (made more laugh-worthy when they strap on the lamest werewolf makeup in the last few decades). Dylan DOG feels like a movie where no one was really trying. I'm sure it was just a paycheck to some of those involved, but this has got to annoy fans of the actual graphic novel who might've been excited to see their beloved property brought to film. Dylan DOG is yet another comic property where we just need to hope that, somewhere down the line, a studio decides to reboot the series and...I don't know...try to make an entertaining film.

Let me first say that 90% of the people who will come to this page should ignore most of the bad reviews for this film. After looking through them, they seem to all have one thing in common - anger that this doesn't seem like a faithful adaptation.

I'm willing to bet that most of the US audience for this film has never read the Dylan Dog comics, and, like me, had never heard of Dylan Dog before hearing the title of this movie.

Now, putting aside the negativity that comes from fans of the source material, I think most fans of the genre will like this movie. It is very in the vein of things like Joss Whedons Buffy & Angel as well as sharing some similarities to things like Constantine and the Dresden Files book series. Let's be honest, this is urban fantasy. Most people know if they enjoy the genre or not.

The film does a decent job of keeping a film noir tone, and using noir tropes to it's advantage. Routh is good as the title character, doing a nice job of trying to be the tired detective without being a weary stereotype. Sam Huntington is great as Marcus, who I think ends up stealing the movie because he really has the lions share of memorable moments.

Yes, chances are you'll figure out the who done it before the movie reveals it, and you'll figure out impending double crosses from the moment characters are introduced. That's the danger of being a genre film, but it doesn't detract from the fact that the movie is really fun, and very funny in quite a few places.

If you like things like Buffy, Constantine or Harry Dresden, give this movie a chance cause I think you will probably end up liking it.

I had never heard of the comic book or anything about the character before watching this movie. Now after watching it,I have no desire to know anything more of it. This movie is like a joke that thinks everything dramatic they do is original,when it is no more than a copy of thousands of movies before hand. It's predictable and HORRIBLY acted by the main actor and except for the comic relief of his best friend it's a snore-fest. I actually fell asleep about 75% into the movie and had to go back to watch the last 25% just so I could see if I missed anything great....I did not. Looking for a good scary monster movie? Don't waste your time on this one. It doesn't even rank bad enough to be so bad that you have to watch it. It's just bad.

Dylan DOG – TRASH IT ( D ) There are only two which can describe this movie "Load and tacky", it literally gave me a headache. The whole movie is a complete mess with unimpressive characters. Brandon Routh really needs to get some serious acting chops. I've defended him over the years as Superman but not anymore. "table for Three" and now this Brandon Routh was completely dreadful in the movie. He was completely atrocious. Sam Huntington is funny as Undead Zombie. Anita Briem is pretty but her role was very typical. Taye Digg was same as he is 90% of his movie roles. overall, its dreadful, if you've brain don't use on this One.

Brandon who? The name's Brandon Routh, the former fashion model who was supposed to save the Superman series by playing the caped superhero in 2006. Alas, despite positive reviews for the Bryan Singer directed movie, the planned sequel for Superman Returns never materialized. What happened to the chiseled good looker? He went on to play supporting roles in several TV series (he had a 12 episode stint on Chuck) and movies (2008's Zack and Miri Make a Porno being the most memorable), before landing himself on this project, which, according to the movie poster, is based on "one of the world's most popular comics".

Err, doesn't that accolade belong to the gang from Marvel?

Jokes aside, Routh plays the titular Dylan Dog, a supernatural private eye who seeks out monsters to bring peace to New Orleans. With a zombie as his assistant, the ace detective must come face to face with vampires and werewolves so that the world can be safe once more.

Research tells us that the horror comic series this movie is based on originated in Italy, where a good one million copies are sold each month since its publication in 1986. The filmmakers have taken liberty to shift the setting of the movie from London to New Orleans, and replacing the sidekick character with an undead assistant due to copyright issues. So here, we have Routh donning the comic character's signature red shirt, black jacket and blue jeans to hunt those monsters down.

Truth be told, the dashing star does look good in the movie with his 1.9 meter frame. The Iowa born actor has the quality of a leading man (check out those sculpted facial features and broad shoulders), but charisma alone is apparently not good enough to make Routh a credible actor. There is a lack in his character portrayal, and it is rather unfortunate that his acting was as dead as the creatures he has to battle. The tiresome voiceovers do not help to sustain our interest in the character either.

Laughs come in the form of Sam Huntington (he played Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen in 2006's Superman Returns, which explains his pairing with Routh in this movie), who plays the under-appreciated friend who becomes a zombie. The endearing actor gets some of the best moments in the movie, including one which has him going to a zombie support group so that he can come to terms with his newfound status as an undead. His presence in the otherwise dreary movie provides the much needed perks.

Regrettably, Huntington alone isn't enough to save the 108 minute production from being predictably lackluster. His co stars include Anita Briem (Journey to the Center of the Earth) who tries her best to take on the role of an attractive client, Peter Stormare (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) who tries his best to look threatening as a werewolf and Taye Diggs (Chicago) who tries his best to send shivers down our spines as a vampire. Maybe it's the B grade movie feel of the production, or maybe it's just the unsurprising plot developments, but we just cannot find ourselves being impressed by the ensemble cast.

Special effects aren't too shoddy in this Kevin Munroe (his other feature film credit is the disappointing TMNT) directed movie, but we can't help but feel that this is one movie best played on late night television.

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