Daylight

"Daylight" is another tedious entry in the micro-budget, c-horror "found footage" sub-genre. I happen to really enjoy these kinds of films and have viewed and reviewed many dozens of them over the last couple of years. This one is, unfortunately pretty typical of majority of these weekend-shoot videos. The acting is what you'd expect from a community college drama course and is often distractingly worse (the kind of acting that makes it seem like they are reading from the script for the first time). This makes it difficult to watch this one all the way through (esp as it just seemed to drone on and on...), but I think to review a film, you need to watch it all the way, just to be fair. Anyway, there were ZERO SCARES (in fact, nothing even remotely interesting in that regard - it was almost like a very long, very bland documentary instead of a horror film), and the plot was the standard dull fare for a supernatural/"demonic" storyline. I think the writers and directors intended some kind of psychological component but couldn't quite decide what kind of film they wanted to make. There's no mystery to the story, no intellectual subtext - it's just a haphazard effort that lacked cohesion and any kind of suspense- building on any level, ultimately. So, unfortunately, I wasted $5 on this rental (which is actually a pretty high price of admission when compared to most other films in this sub-genre on Amazon Instant) - which is a lot to throw away on a rental. Hopefully, this review will save you some money and time, as I definitely can't recommend this one. Really the only positives for this one are the use of quite good editing software (if heavily overused, esp with regard to the usual "found footage" camera flutters and video distortion) and graphics, high quality HD cameras, they did provide at least a full-length movie (though again that was a plus and a minus), the lack of tedious background music (so common to these kinds of films) and some kinda cool DVD cover artwork, which actually sold me on renting this clunker. I just want to save the viewing public from wasting their money, despite the phony reviews posted by family and friends of the filmmakers eager to earn some of their investment back.

I keep a personal movie inventory where I rank movies and categorize them in good, average, and bad buckets. Daylight has the honor of being at the very bottom of my bad category (and I like found footage films), even behind a flick called "Primal Rage" that makes Bigfoot an archer(!) That's saying something.

I'm still curious why it took so long for this genre to take off. Blair Witch seemed to have opened the door for cheap (even cheaper than usual) horror movie making. Whatever the case, I'm not a big fan of that craze. Still the movie although it has many flaws (acting being one of the major ones, clichés and bad shots some of the others), is somewhat enticing and has tension when needed.

It almost takes really off during the last third of the movie (even if it seems to change pace in between), but it also gets tangled up in some mysterious threads that might not be as obvious as you have thought at the beginning of the movie. So it is complex, but maybe not in a good way (Eye of the Beholder). If it weren't for going that different route, I think I would've given it a lesser rating, but maybe you'll feel different. It's a strange movie, keep that in the back of your mind

It's the only thing that this steaming pile of @#% is scarier than. No acting No direction. No plot. No point. No sense. No believability. No effort. No way to get your wasted time back. Just say NO.As in How about this movie should have never daylight? Daylight plot holes so big you can see.....Daylight through them...What should the people who made this film and willingly subjected it to others never see again???,,,You guessed it Daylight....Out of all the horrible found footage films ever made which is actually the most horrible...Daylight! Why did the chicken cross the road to escape from the crappy film DAYLIGHT..If you want to break up with your gf/bf really recommend Daylight and then watch it with them.They're assuredly going to lose all respect for you.Yay 10 lines.I officially wrote more meaningful dialogue than in the entire film Daylight.

I admit, with some hesitation, to having become a bit of a fan of the low budget found footage/hand held horror genre. I tend to be quite forgiving as I understand that these are mostly done by those who are still learning their craft combined with a few who have a true passion for the project.

While the acting was somewhat hit or miss I did admire the ambition of the story. There was a level of complexity and interwoven character histories that is unusual for this type of film. It stylistically made its way from a somewhat predictable beginning to an almost Clive Barker like place then through a very dark surreal phase and finally settled in to what I can only call a Gothic (did I mention I found it ambitious?).

This would not be for anyone who simply wants to have a good scare or a fan of slasher flicks. I can not even truly say it is for exorcism junkies as it was not what one would typically thinks of as that type of film. It was an almost experimental feeling magic carpet ride. For me, at least, it was an interesting ride.