Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is a Light Film with a Cool Concept
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Dylan Dog: Dead in the Night contends that the world we live in is filled with monsters, all the time - that guy with bad skin at the diner may not just look like a zombie.
Written by The Horror Czar, Don Sumner
August 12, 2011
Movie Trailer
Image Gallery
Release: April 29, 2011 (U.S. Theatrical)
Directed by: Kevin Munroe
Written by: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, Tiziano Sclavi (comic book series "Dylan Dog")
Starring:
Brandon Routh as Dylan
Peter Stormare as Gabriel
Sam Huntington as Marcus
Taye Diggs as Vargas
Anita Briem as Elizabeth
Dylan (Brandon Routh) is a private investigator determined to take snapshots of rich men in bed with their lovely secretaries to enable disgruntled wives to leave them penniless when they file for divorce. He’s good at taking the unseemly pictures, but not very good at drumming up business as evidenced by his trashed office and extra time to sit around doing nothing. But this is Dylan’s second job.
Dylan’s first job was as the defender of humans from those in the
monster community who overstep their bounds and cause trouble. You see,
monsters are among us every day, right in front of our faces. That
“Italian” mob family, for example, is actually a centuries-old clan of
werewolves. Those bad-skinned fry cooks at the gross diner downtown
don’t just look like the walking dead but are actually zombies. Thug
gangs who wreak havoc on unsuspecting suburbanites trying to get to
their cars after the
symphony are vampires seeking
blood. Monsters are
everywhere, we just don’t know it. When a monster starts to draw
attention to themselves, though, this threatens the “secret society” of
monsters everywhere and brings the threat of torch-wielding mobs, so
they must be brought back into compliance with the monster rules.
That’s where Dylan comes in. Dylan is a human “beat cop” agreed upon by
the leaders of various monster clans to act as enforcer, judge and jury
when a monster runs afoul. At least Dylan used to be that guy. He is
retired now and looking for a quieter life.
Against his will and better judgment Dylan is brought back into action after a werewolf kills his assistant, and basically all Hell breaks loose.
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is the big screen rendition of a popular Italian comic series began in 1986 and written by Tiziano Sclavi. The English language version is published by Dark Horse Comics, and the series has built quite a following over the years in spite of the dis-involvement of the original writer and the necessity for other writers to keep the series and character going. The comic foundation of the film Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is both a strength and a possibly insurmountable challenge. Where you have passionate fans you’ve got folks who will cry to the heavens when their beloved stories are presented in a way considered inconsistent. The critical reviews of this movie, not surprisingly, are negative to the point of outrage among those who follow the comic series. From the point of view of one who did not follow this series, this film is pretty average.
The story in Dylan Dog is interesting and fun, the casting and characters work pretty well, and the effects and monsters are strong and well done. The end product is a bit “sanitary” though. With production slickness reminiscent of a SyFy movie of the week, yet not as grand as a really BIG film such as Underworld or Resident Evil, it almost seems as if Judith Light or one of the women from Sex in the City could come out of a coffee shop at any time. In spite of voluminous CGI gore this film doesn’t have any grit. The attempts are there, they just don’t come to fruition.
The Dylan character is portrayed as a man with pain in his past so
great that it burns his very soul, yet Brandon Routh moving straight
from filming Dylan Dog to a supporting role in ‘Law and Order: Special
Victim’s Unit’ or maybe even Space Camp wouldn’t be out of
the question. Grit people – let’s see some darkness, some pain, some
conflict. You know, make it real. One of the things that really stood
out 
in Thomas Jane’s performance in
the 2004 sleeper The Punisher
was the inner darkness brought on by a blind hunger for revenge that he
brought to the table. Jane may be a bit old for the lead role in Dylan
Dog, and that darkness may even be completely inappropriate for this
character based on the comics as far as I know, but that may have
brought a bit of “why care?” to the equation.
As it stands Dylan Dog: Dead of Night lacks any real darkness or angst, so winds up being in the same realm as the forgettable films that came before and will come afterward. The story along with the tragedy endured by Dylan are enough to build a compelling character and even series of films, but those opportunities are not capitalized on. I don’t regret watching this film, but my life wouldn’t be any less had I not. Rent Dylan Dog: Dead of Night on Amazon or stream on Netflix is my recommendation, as you won’t likely be watching it again.
Questions or comments about Dylan Dog: Dead of Night? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
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