Demons at Dawn

Right, well I figured that I would be in for a horror movie, as I sat down to watch the 2022 movie "Demons at Dawn". Actually, I hadn't heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it, so I didn't know what I was in for. But given the movie's cover and it's title, then I figured it would be a horror movie.

Turns out that I was in for a snoozefest of a movie, and there was actually nothing worthwhile to behold here. Needless to say that I didn't stick around to finish watching the movie. I just simply found no enjoyment in the storyline from writer Chris Sanders.

The acting performances in the movie were fair enough, when you take into consideration that the actors and actresses had very little to work with in terms of script, storyline, characters and dialogue. Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. Nor can I can say that I was impressed with what I saw.

Visually then you're not in for anything grand here, should you opt to sit down and watch director Randy Kent's 2022 movie "Demons at Dawn".

My rating of "Demons at Dawn" lands on a generous two out ten stars.

Indebted to a vicious mob boss, a retiring hitman is blackmailed into taking on one last job to clear himself of the debts and sets off to the remote house where his target is held up, but when the whole affair is found to be a setup for a demonic sacrifice must save himself and their targets.

This was an intriguing if somewhat flawed feature. Among the better features here is the way this one tends to work through the rather surprising setup that works quite well at establishing a solid old-school atmosphere. The time-honored trope of the retiring hitman pulled into doing one last job only to get caught up in something beyond his experiences and get dragged into a genuine supernatural fare is a fine way to get this going as it starts off on a lot of fine elements here. The use of the gangster-drama first half to spell out his reasoning and motivation to take on the case which is a blackmailed way of ensuring he gets out to the house and undergoes a series of revelations and reveals about everything when he arrives is a fun way to get this going as the different setup at first allows the genre fare to come off quite a bit better when they occur due to this. The other big factor to be had with this one is the final half where the film starts to get far more interesting than just spending time with him doing nothing. The introduction of his mission being interrupted by the cult looking to sacrifice them for their demonic hosts is a solid twist and hsa a lot to like with the slow build-up to get there offering some solid bits of supernatural shenanigans to highlight that impending twist when they're revealed in their glory. Featuring a lot of solid encounters in the house and the surrounding areas to show the impact of the demonic beings coming to fulfill the twist nicely, there's plenty to like here with the atmospheric setting helping to give this a great touch overall to help hold this one up overall. There are some drawbacks to this one which holds it back. The biggest detriment to this one is the incredibly sluggish and draining tempo at the beginning which takes so long to get going that the film is half over before anything really happens. With the majority of the first half spent on the mob bosses getting him to accept their blackmailed mission and send him off to the mission is just dull and not that interesting, making for a tough immersion here involving the potential non-genre material to slow the film up before it gets started. There's also the film's somewhat obvious low-budget limitations present, where the flimsy-looking masks for the demons, cheesy gore make-up, and lack of elaborate wounds in a singular location setup offer a strong hint about this which might not always appeal to everyone and keeps it down at points.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

I had a lot of fun watching this film and always enjoy watching what indie filmmakers can do on a "lower budget" than that of the big Hollywood blockbuster. Great camera work, lighting, and scenery were the highlights here to me. I enjoyed the story and much of the acting as well, but the technical side of things are what I enjoyed most in this case. I loved the house and its surrounding setting and enjoyed the mystery of the story that was conveyed by the characters within. It's a blast watching the folks at Black Coppice Films share their love of film and horror through their hard work! I am looking forward to see what they do next!

What would you do to clear a debt?

Retired Hitman, Mickey Santini (played by Ben Silver) is drowning in it and Mob Boss ChaoFeng Mei (played by Crystal J. Huang) wants payment in full. Knowing he doesn't have the funds, she sends him on one last hit...and he'll be in the clear. Unbeknowst to him, it'll be his last...or will it? Once there, he locates his target and someone has already taken him out; unsure what do he takes refuge in the house only to be attacked and taken hostage by the supposed killer.

After being interrogated by the killer, things seem to take a strange turn for the worse as robed figures begin appearing in the darkness of night. Being a skeptic and nonbeliever in the supernatural, it takes Mickey some doing. After several unexpected events, he joins forces with his new friend Charlotte (played by Amber Doig-Thorne) whom have taken refuge inside the house to fight the daemonic forces and to survive till dawn.

The buildup of the story and how the finale comes to a head is cooly done, especially when Levi (played by Chris Sanders) comes in and takes the reins.

The plot of the film reminds of one of my favourite UK films, Ben Wheatley's 'Kill List' but on a micro budget and beautifully shot.

The visual effects (ie. Fog, the Interior, & etc.) are class and proper done very natural looking. The special effects, to be honest some worked really well; some you could tell the actors were wearing masks, but the costumes and the gothic decorations kept you in the illusion of the film.

The actors themselves did a wonderful job, aside from a few that could use more work in front of the camera but you could tell that everyone was having a blast and enjoying themselves which is the important part. The camera work and the colours and the way you see England with the cinematography is awe inspiring.

The film was directed by Randy Kent and written by Chris Sanders. Chris has written and directed several other feature films that he has collaborated with Kent. Some of these films include: the upcoming 'Werewolf Cabal', 'The Haunted Studio', and 'Bring Me A Skin For Dancing In'.

Demons at Dawn is Available to watch on Tubi for all of those interested.

Director Randy Kent (THE PERFECT HOUSE 2012) ,BLOOD TULIPS fails upon establishing anything that is entertaining nor suspenseful as the majority of the film basically has Sander and a lone female(rising British Scream Queen] Amber Doig Thorne (WINNIE THE POOH:BLOOD AND HONEY,FANGED UP,MINACIOUS) having lengthy talky scenes inside of a remote countryside side and nothing else more as it all leads to a grim finale that leaves the door open for a sequel(which is unlikely to ever happen) with the cast doing what they can to salvage this film, which is basically the celluloid version of a Pet Rock in terms of entertainment values. With a quick guest appearance by (modern British Scream Queen) Dani Thompson (AXE TO GRIND,MY BLOODY BANJO,VIDEO SHOP TALES OF TERROR). Crystal J. Huang (AMITYVILLE BIGFOOT,AMBER ROAD,BERMUDA ISLAND),and Amy DiLorenzi(PILLOW PARTY MASSACRE).