Review of Sunrise

Sunrise (II) (2024)
3/10
A waste of phenomenal acting
20 January 2024
Let me start off by saying that the only thing this movie has going for it is the acting. That's it. Nothing else about it will be acclaimed, thought of fondly, or even remembered a few months from now. It's one of those movies that you're not sure why it even exists. It says it's a horror movie, but was it really? I am fully convinced that this movie started off as a slow burn drama, some executive read the script and said, "You know what this movie needs? Vampires!". That's the only plausible explanation I can think of for such a thoroughly unremarkable film.

I felt absolutely no fear or even the slightest inkling of it during its entire runtime, and some segments felt like an afterthought, as if the film was finished when someone else came in with their asinine ideas and decided to make this movie something other than what it originally was. As a slow burn, small town drama, this might have worked. The acting was PHENOMENAL, so much so that, had it not been as good, I would have turned the movie off 20 minutes in. But every single actor played their role perfectly, and kept me invested in what little story there was to be invested in.

Whoever decided to turn this movie from a drama to a supernatural horror film really ruined what little this movie had going for it. They decided to include a vampire, but this vampire can walk in the sun, has no super strength or speed, is brooding in an unlikable sort of way, and just doesn't do anything that could be considered vampire-like aside from drinking chicken blood. It's really a shame that this film couldn't decide what it wanted to be from the onset, and picking the more fleshed out genre could have made something out this mess. What we do get, however, is ideas that appear shoe-horned and out of place, to the detriment of the entire picture.

I gave this movie 3 stars for the acting alone, because the talent of the actors in this film is undeniable. But with such a shoddy script, no real horror elements, and some really sophomoric looking special effects, the film has absolutely nothing else going for it. It's truly a shame to see such talent squandered by the bad decisions of a few talking heads. Next time, try to pick a genre that makes sense, without trying to fit a square peg in the round hole of ideas for a movie.

Avoid this film. If you must watch it, do so for the acting. But be warned that nothing else about it will leave even a lasting impression.
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