20130802_a: Horror Film Review--Daylight Fades

Daylight Fades

1. Released in 2010, live action theatrical release; horror genre; 100 minutes.
2. Rotten Tomatoes said 'No Reviews Yet..', and 50% approval from 34 users.
3. IMDB gave it 3.8/10.0 for 127 users; imdb site
4. So, the film was not widely attended.  Hulu+ streamed the film in HD.
5. Screenplay was between awkward and useless.  The density of cliches is rather high.  The acting tends to be wooden.
6. Cinematography was better.  There is usually enough light.  Focus and framing are good even in low light, and periods of murkiness and jerky camera motion are few and far between.  As with many vampire films, the scenes were often dark.  That's not a plus for me.
7. Sound was OK.  The foley was not obnoxious, and the incidental music was suitable rather than discordant.  The sound was more of a nothing than an asset.
8. At 20 minutes into the movie, the setup is fairly complete.  A young man (Johnny) and a young woman (Elizabeth) get romantically involved.  He is more serious about it, while she is more casual.  They break up over this.  Immediately thereafter, he becomes the main victim in a car accident, and seems highly likely to die from internal bleeding.  Then she's heart broken.
9. This film needed ten times the budget on screenplay, and five times the budget on actors.  The motivations for the performances of the actors eludes me too often.
10. 'What do you mean, you changed me?'  Before dying, Johnny gets turned by the vampire Seth.
11. At 40 minutes in, the challenges of vampire life settle in for Johnny.  Eating mammals other than humans was not too much of a challenge, but dealing with one's old friends is more problematic.  Not surprisingly, there are human deaths and coverups.  Johnny does not immediately know what to do with his increased strength and speed.
12. An hour in, Johnny is disillusioned by Seth, and getting some tutelage from Raven, a vampire senior to Seth.  Eighty minutes in, Johnny's relationship with Raven has gone bad, and Seth's attempt at rapprochement with Elizabeth's mother has failed.
13. Johnny and Seth deal with (hm) Elizabeth wanting to be turned.
14. The count of 'I can't do this' is pretty high.  After a while, it just becomes repetitive whining.  Again, the main faults here are the sad writing, and the green state of the actors.
15. Were there any characters that I cared about?  No.  Was there anything unexpected?  Not really.  Were there many 'of course' moments?  Yes.  Would I recommend this to anyone?  I would recommend this one only to those who relish start to finish badness.
16. One star of five, in honor of the cinematography and the sound, even though those were lackluster.  20130927: two blackholes for acting and screenplay.

Scores:

1. Cinematography: 5/10 Good enough.


2. Sound: 5/10 The actors were adequately miked, but the sound levels still tended to be low.


3. Acting: 2/10 The actor who plays the protagonist was particularly bad, and none of the others were that interesting.


4. Screenplay: 1/10  Slow, non-engaging, disappointing ending.