Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is probably one of the most lazy films of 2010. I make fun of terrible low-budget horror and action films all the time, but these films did not have the advantages of Brandon Routh or Taye Diggs in leading roles. Most of these movies went straight to DVD and never expected audiences to shell out $12 for a ticket. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night had the advantages of a known property and fairly big-name leading actors, but the product they turned out would be more at home on the SyFy channel than in movie theaters.
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night follows the “one last case” of supernatural investigator Dylan Dog (Brandon Routh). Dylan used to be a mediator between supernatural beings and humans, and if there was a crime where one side crossed the line, he was brought in to clean things up. He retired after his girlfriend was murdered by vampires, but he is lured back by the lovely Elizabeth (Anita Briem) whose father was murdered by a werewolf. With his best friend and business partner Marcus (Sam Huntington), Dylan uncovers a plot involving a club owner vampire named Vargas (Taye Diggs) and an ancient monster that Vargas wants to reawaken.
There are plenty of silly elements about Dylan Dog: Dead of Night. For example, Dylan narrates the entire movie in a bad film noir voice-over, and the plot is incredibly convoluted and dull considering that it involves vampires, werewolves, and zombies. I would have been willing to forgive these shortcomings, however, if it weren't for the amateur production of the film. Whoever was in charge of continuity on Dylan Dog should really be ashamed of this sloppy work. During one scene, Dylan wrecks his car taking out a vampire. Dylan and Elizabeth leave the car behind and walk down the street. They are clearly walking away from the car, and yet in the next scene, Dylan and Elizabeth are in the car again with Dylan continuing his conversation from before. How does a professional continuity editor miss such an obvious mistake?
Another scene that took me entirely out of the movie is Elizabeth's big fight scene near the end. In the scene, she has two swords strapped to her back, and she reaches back to unsheathe them. The audience gets to see her whole back which is nothing but skin and bones. During the fight, the camera cuts to several shots from behind Elizabeth, and it is clear that whoever it is in the shot, it is not Anita Briem. Anita Briem's back is skin and bones, but her stunt double has a huge back rippling with muscles. After re-watching the scene several times, I'm fairly certain that the crew took a male stunt double and threw a blonde wig on him. Once again, I am shocked that such an amateur production ever made it to theaters at all.
For people who enjoy an entertaining bad movie, Dylan Dog might still sound like a fun movie to rent or toss onto your Netflix queue, but as a lover of good bad movies, I advise against it. Yes, the plot might have vampires, werewolves, zombies, and Taye Diggs, but Dylan Dog is shockingly boring. The film's running time is only 108 minutes, but I found myself glancing at my watch hoping it was almost over. Sam Huntington is supposed to be the film's comic relief, but most of his jokes falls flat. There is no chemistry between Anita Briem and Brandon Routh, and Taye Diggs looks like he is the only one having any fun with limited material they have given him. Even Brandon Routh looks bored. It is clear to everyone watching that he is doing this movie for the paycheck. All of Routh's charisma and humor from Zach and Miri Make a Porno and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is absent here, and all that is left is a handsome but empty shell that reads its lines and just tries to get done in as few takes as possible. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is ultimately a giant disappointment because it relies on the Dylan Dog comic's fans, the film's stars, and the trends of zombie/vampire/werewolf movies while slacking off on the most basic of film technique.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
For a Blu-ray release, this disc is bare-bones. They didn't even include a theatrical trailer for the film. For the few people who liked Dylan Dog: Dead of Night and wanted more, this release is a huge let-down.
"Dylan Dog: Dead of Night" is on sale July 26, 2011 and is rated PG13. Action, Crime, Horror, Mystery. Directed by Kevin Munroe. Written by Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer. Starring Anita Briem, Brandon Routh, Peter Stormare, Sam Huntington, Taye Diggs.
