Demons at Dawn (2022) User Reviews

Review Courtesy of Joel Fisher to Off-Set all of the Fake Reviews...

[jm-vincent · 2/10 · 27 November 2022]

Mickey Santini (Ben Silver) is a hitman on the verge of retirement. However, after a meeting with Carlos Rudinski (John Altman), he's pulled in for one last job. Unfortunately, the job doesn't seem to be up for negotiation either, because he's the only person who can do it and if he can't then his life is on the line.

All he has to do is to go to a house in the countryside and finish off the unfortunate business that has happened there. Although when Mickey gets there, he meets Charlotte (Amber Doig-Thorne) and realises that he's not been told the whole truth. In fact, what's really been happening is that there is a demonic making human sacrifices in the woods and if he's not careful, Mickey could be their next victim.

Demons at Dawn is a British crime thriller turned supernatural horror story directed by Randy Kent and written by Chris Sanders. Clearly taking inspiration from British crime thrillers, Demons at Dawn sets up its premise which is quite original for the horror genre, but it doesn't seem to able to let it go.

This means that most of the movie could be seen as a gangster movie without anything particularly scary happening.

In fact, it goes on for so long that those who are led to believe that they are going to watch a horror movie may be bored by the time anything supernatural occurs. Also, those fans of horror may be equally disappointed if they stuck it out, only to be met with a visual effects budget of an average episode of forgotten 70's children's show, Rentaghost.

This is not worth the 8s and 10s

[sierbahnn · 3/10 · 26 September 2023]

Again, this is a movie that lives off its FEW reviews, hiking the numbers up. It is clearly not a 5.8 (at the time of writing) and will continue to go down.

It is a passable movie in all respect, but there are choices in directing, design and writing that puts it just under "ok".

You can tell that this was a passion project for many of those involved, but to call it a "masterpiece" is to give it too much credit.

Th effectwork is plugin-based and the makeup is... I mean, it is interesting, but certainly nothing to write home about.

You can safely give this one a miss, as it is nothing much.

A swing and a miss...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 25 September 2023]

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.

Movie Review: Demons At Dawn (2022)

[LegendsofHorror · 5/10 · 6 December 2022]

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.

I'll give it a two for the idea...

[wayneandanntriskelion · 2/10 · 28 September 2023]

Wow... okay. Where to begin? I'll start with the good: it is imaginative and they had a fairly good idea. The concept of a world-wide group of witches working with demons for human trafficking is a great premise for a movie.

Too bad the writing, acting, special effects, and editing make student films from the Buckeye School of Film and Proctology look like Dr. Zhivago.

The plot is incoherent throughout with characters introduced and then eliminated without explanation. We have a vague idea of who they are supposed to be but almost no idea why they are there. The two leads try desperately to put on a good show; however, their lines are so wooden Olivier couldn't make them work.

Other than the two leads, the acting is strictly amateur hour. One horrible idea was having a minor female character introduced around a half hour in who looks like a slightly older version of the female lead who is introduced later. This caused me to believe I was seeing the same actress suddenly return from the dead - would it have killed you guys to, I don't know, change somebody's freaking hair color along the way?

And, then there are the effects. Blood and gore, not so bad but the masks look like something from Spirit Halloween's bargain table.

Finally, this thing was stitched together worse than a 70s grindhouse flick. We need to see a logical flow of understanding by the characters as the plot is revealed. Instead, we have what appear to be jumps between "I don't know what is going on" to "I know how to handle this". The ChaoFeng mob scenes are hideously overacted and do nothing for the overall plot.

Bad as it was, I want to close with this: I watched the entire film. Why? Because the concept was fresh. With about another year of pre-production and script re-writes? This might have been a very good movie. I'll be looking for more films by the director in the future. I view this as more of a student film than a finished work. And, I'll bet we'll see better from them in the future.

A worthy effort from promising talent!

[tocherd · 7/10 · 2 November 2022]

Demons At Dawn is a lot of fun. The cinematography and the sound design are tight. The dialogue and plot of the script is good. There were a few things I felt needed tightening, but overall, these issues are forgivable. Every actor did a fine job and you could see that they were all having a great time making the movie, which adds to the viewing enjoyment.

My favourite performance was from Chris Sanders (the screenwriter and producer) in his role as Levi Saracen. He is very convincing as a cool, cold-hearted mediator between the cult and the victims.

The build-up toward the supernatural, climactic ending worked well.

Although the film is dressed up as fictional entertainment about the supernatural, it addresses real worldwide criminal behaviour in a careful manner. So, it has the potential beyond its entertainment value to encourage dialogue and awareness among viewers.

I am strongly convinced that Chris Sanders, Randy Kent, and all of the team involved in this are talents to keep your eye on because they show promise for great things to come.

So, grab some popcorn, get Demons At Dawn loaded on your favourite streaming platform, don't be judgmental, and enjoy this film for what it is: an indie-horror fun-ride!!

Demons Be Gone!

[srh49978 · 9/10 · 2 November 2022]

Indie movies are so much fun. A few years back they were often grainy and amateurish. That has all changed in the last five years. Most are so well-filmed, edited, directed, and the acting is so good that they are often better than the productions coming out of the Hollywood movie machines. They are way more creative, and each actor is so invested that they are a joy to watch. I have one criticism of almost all current indie films. It is difficult to find a real story line. They are beautiful, well-acted scenes just hooked together. So that is what you end up watching. Demons at Dawn breaks away from that tunnel-vision trap. It is easy to see what is going on in a linear fashion so that It follows a real storyline. Five minutes into the film, I noticed how well-written it is. It is a most enjoyable film with many highly comic points and excellent effects as our protagonist, fraught with addictions and co dependencies, tries to cancel out his humongous gambling debt in one fell swoop..oh my..he gets a bit side-tracked by scary ?, ?, and ? Wonderful job by all involved! I am fond of many of the actors as I have watched them in other indie works. Good stuff! Entertaining!

A fun indie horror film from England

[moviemaniacd · 9/10 · 1 November 2022]

I hard a lot of fun with this film. It is well edited, directed and the script keeps you on your toes. The way the film starts out is not how you may expect it to finish. You can see the influences from other films like "From Dusk til Dawn" here. The cast was all in on the film. They are having fun in their roles, especially Crystal J Huang and John Altman. I really liked Ben Silver as the Hitman taking one last job. He is a sympathetic character that you hope makes it through the night.

The special effects for the demons were very well done for the budget the film was on. While there are some digital effects used, most of the demons are practical. It reminded me of late 80s/early 90s monsters in a good way. I enjoyed the twists the script took and some of the cinematography looked great, especially the establishing outside shots and the claustrophobic shots inside the cabin. There is a lot of dialog but the editing helps keep conversations interesting. It gets even more interesting when the demon action starts. If you are a fan of indie horror I think this is worth a watch.

Solid characters and score make for a surprisingly entertaining movie.

[cartrektccom · 8/10 · 2 November 2022]

I had previously seen the first movie from this director called "Nest of Vampires" which had a super confusing plot and was hobbled somewhat by bad practical effects. However, it was clear, even then, that Sanders would be somebody to watch in the future.

With this offering, "Demons at Dawn", it is very clear that he has learned a huge amount from his previous movie and his craft has improved dramatically.

Without spoilers, the basic synopsis of the plot is that a retired hitman, Mickey, is forced by circumstance and a gambling addiction to take one last job to clear his debt load with his previous "employers". As the movie title no doubt reveals, things don't go as planned and take a supernatural turn for the worse.

For the most part, the movie is strongly driven by dialogue and pretty solid acting. Almost all characters are fleshed out with real motivations and backgrounds and unique personality quirks. The camera work and lighting is absolutely spot on. A solid plot invests the audience in the fate of the characters with the correct amount of believable tension. All the scenes drive towards a solid and satisfying conclusion.

Now, originally, my thought was to give a rare 10/10 review based on the solid storytelling and cinematography, made even more impressive by the tiny budget it was filmed with. However, there were a few niggles that I decided to drop a couple of points for. First, there was a scene where some cultists are actually summoning the "demons" and the acting in that scene was pretty cringeworthy. Likewise, a scene with a judge which was similarly very cardboard acting and pulled the audience somewhat out of the movie for a moment. I'm not sure why these two scenes were not up to the same solid acting standard or proofed as with the rest of the movie. The second issue I had was with "Mickey" himself. His acting skills were impeccable, his character well developed and solid and his dialogue and emotional range absolutely carried the movie. However, he was set up as being a highly trained hitman and that was not even remotely evident in the movie. He came ill prepared with the "tools of the trade" to complete his assigned mission and appeared not well trained in how to appropriately use or handle weapons. Ie, although his character was solid and relatable, he appeared to be, at best, an amateur assassin and not the stated "best in the business" that the other support characters set him up to be. The makeup, for the most part was solid although there were a couple of points where the low budget gore was evident. However, these were relatively minor unless specifically looking for them.

Minor niggles aside, this was a very entertaining movie that stands up well against considerably larger big budget movies out there. The ambient background sounds and creepy music really helped to build tension with the audience. Some very clever cinematography techniques helped to show the passage of time or flashbacks. The cuts and lighting were spot on and there was very little in the way of filler getting in the way of the story. Also, there were a couple of satisfying twists including a solid one at the very end.

All in all, well worth the hour and a half time investment. If you love Indie horror, this is one of the better ones. A phenomenal achievement with an extremely limited budget. Well done!

A Hidden Gem

[dougwestcloud · 8/10 · 12 November 2022]

A well paced and high stakes piece with an isolated and beautiful setting. Demons at Dawn gives you a tight script with well rounded charecters faced with the task of outliving a family of demons hungry for blood. I won't spoil anything for you as it's a definite recommendation well worthy of its title.

It's nice to see low budget films like this coming out of the UK with new Filmmakers getting a chance to showcase their skills. The fresh faces of the cast also gives new actors a chance to shine, I hope to see some of them popping up again in future.

Look forward to Black Coppices next film.

Took Me All the Best Ghoulish Places I Wanted to Go

[silverchairfairy · 9/10 · 17 November 2022]

Let me first proclaim my bias: I love any film that feels like it comes from a bygone time. Demons at Dawn lends itself to my visual fetish there like an expert! I miss movies that are not self-aware, and this one is a glorious example of that. It is full of badass, frightening, unapologetically violent women (another thing I adore), incredibly-shot cityscapes, and an indefinable 90s mood. There is also a wonderfully old-school slowburn quality to the story's arc. When the movie started, I had no idea whatsoever that it would go where it went--and that is precisely what I expect of a well-written script! Whether you enjoy indie horror in general or just need a few bloodthirsty demons and Satanic cults set against idyllic English backdrops in your day, check this one out.

Must see film

[rayray-68420 · 10/10 · 9 January 2023]

Demons at dawn was one of the best films that I've seen in a while. I really like the storyline and the special effects and the characters. Each and every actor that was in this movie played their role to a T and they were outstanding and amazing it's one of the best horse Flash mystery type movies that I've seen. You will not be disappointed in this film at all it's non-stop action and suspense from the first scene all the way to the last. The producer of this film I recommend that you watch more of his work he has a way of telling a story and keeping you interested in that story and that's what is amazing.

My cup of tea!!

[ukmkonline · 10/10 · 6 February 2023]

I'm always on the look out for a good horror film that are original and unpredictable, this one didn't disappoint. Some brilliant acting and superb directing packs a punch providing the low budget production. It's an inspiration for somebody like me who wants to get into film making and and hopefully one day make a full time career out of it.

I love the UK and American connection not to mention the amazing Bai Ling and Amber Doig-Thorn feature in the film as I am a big fan of both.

I hope to see more of Chris Sanders work in the future and I have no doubt they will just get better and better.

Fun Film!!

[jacobsnightmare · 8/10 · 12 November 2022]

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!