Await the Dawn

So did writer and director Pablo Macho Maysonet IV just recently watch "From Dusk Till Dawn" when he was coming up with the concept idea for the 2020 horror movie "Await the Dawn"?

Not only was parts the plot rather similar to the parts of the plot in Tarrantino's "From Dusk Till Dawn", but even the movie's title was bearing a resemblance as well.

And it should be said that the 2020 movie "Await the Dawn" doesn't even manage to reach the 1996 movie to the knees. Nay, these two movie are in very two different leagues.

While "Await the Dawn" was watchable, it just wasn't an impressive movie; not in terms of story, plot or events in the movie. The movie was simply too mundane and slow paced, and it was also a bit too predictable. So that left very little for the audience to gorge upon - pardon the pun.

"Await the Dawn" does have a rather good ensemble of actors and actresses, with the likes of Dee Wallace, Bruce Davison and Vernon Wells as some of the more recognizable. But even with these on the last list, whereas Davidson and Wells were actually hardly in the movie, then "Await the Dawn" didn't really live up to what it could have been.

Sure, there were an abundance of opportunity and possibilities readily available within the grasp of the writer and director for "Await the Dawn", but sadly the movie never rose above mediocrity.

The special effects in the movie were, for the most parts, actually good enough. However, they weren't over-the-top impressive displays of CGI or practical effects. But the special effects team managed to do their jobs well enough, as the effects served their purposes. The creature, though, well that felt sort of anti-climatic when it was revealed.

Ultimately then "Await the Dawn" wasn't all that and a bowl of gore. Nay, the movie was watchable, but it is hardly an outstanding movie, nor is it a memorable addition to the horror franchise. My rating of "Await the Dawn" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.

I am not going to be as harsh as some in reviewing this movie. It has its faults, especially when people, knowing the very real threat, freeze when they need to do something. But that is also the fault of many horror movies, because if they did act, the movie might be over. It starts with a family taking their older daughter to rehab, as she is in day one of withdrawal and sick. A doctor goes with them in a big RV, to supervise her. It is a family affair, and what seems to be of a somewhat dysfunctional family. On the trip, they come across a very young and adorable little girl, Maggie, who seems hurt. And also a young man who worked in a laboratory which was exploring ways of communicating with the dead, which makes for an interesting plot point. Maggie is inhabited by a being that was brought from an alternate dimension by their work, and she is pure evil. So one has evil outside, and the family shows their conflicts inside the cramped quarters of the RV. The young man has a device that keeps her at bay, and as long as it functions, she cannot get to them. The creature inside Maggie cannot tolerate the light, so they have to survive until dawn but will they? If one has made it through the movie don't rush to cut it off as soon as the end credits start. I liked the theory of how the creature got into Maggie, and it is also the only time Bruce Davison is on screen, for a minute or two. It can be entertaining and at times infuriating.

Kept me pretty well glued to the TV screen. Scientist's daughter wreaks havoc and lust for terror is not entirely new, but with nice twists and well filmed.

If it's your type of horror (blood and guts} you are in for a treat.

Having said that if you take it tongue in cheek and just accept the fact it is a low budget horror movie then you will find it a passable Friday nights viewing with a few mates, a few beers and a few laughs as the story is as mad as the directors name.

I think the director should seriously consider shortening his name as it is quite pretentious; he even puts his name on one of the gravestones at the end of the movie, cmon for real? Maysonet? Macho? The name is almost as laughable as some of the acting.

The story is bizarre but the acting contrary to other the usual (1 or 10 star) reviewers who clearly don't know what good acting is as well as properly rating a movie on Imdb, is on the whole rather good with Dee Wallace stealing the show; she always puts in a top performance whatever role she takes on but does she really need the money that much to star in these low budgeters. Her acting is so much better than any of the other cast members she seems so much more out of place in this. It also features the magnificently over the top Vernon Wells who many may remember as the standout bad guy in the original Mad Max movie and although all the performances are adequate, Hannah Strasser who plays the demon from another dimension makes the entire film fall as flat as a pancake that has been steamrollered into oblivion as she just cannot act with a wooden and totally inappropriate performance.

To be fair the CGI and gore is quite well done but the film just seems to be designed around the gore and effects rather than having a flowing narrative but the one thing that makes the whole thing look silly is the interdimensional wormhole generator - It is actually an inverted Magic Devil food blender (I kid you not, I actually have one!) with some led lights flashing and modelling clay made me laugh until I literally soiled myself!

It is low budget so should be reviewed as such and to be fair it beats a lot of the utter guff I have seen recently on Netflix and if you go into it with a few beers or other brain dulling soporific, you might just find it a bit of a laugh, although I am not 100% sure this is what Pablo the magnificent...IV had in mind - who knows but its a slightly below average 4/10 on the hatchets scale for me!

This movie is cheesy, the acting quality is mostly poor and the overall plot is dumb. Yet it's somehow still entertaining. But don't come with high expectations. The special effects are good and gory, and there is plenty of suspense while the characters make one dumb decision after another and then become all melodramatic over the consequences. In other words this is a typical, fun B-horror movie.

Many aspects of this movie overlap with Tales from the Crypt and Demon Knight, which is a great movie by the way. If you like that style, meaning the non-seriousness and campy gore, you probably will like this movie, as long as you adjust your expectations, because it's not nearly as good as Demon Knight.