Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2010)

The most aggravating movies, in my opinion, are the ones where the premise sounds like something that could make for a really awesome movie but the actual product falls completely flat. Dylan DOG is not a horrible movie, it's just another movie that might entertain a bit while you watch it...might elicit a chuckle at times...but overall is completely forgettable. It's based off an Italian graphic novel that I'd honestly never heard of, but might be interested in checking out to see if it's better than the movie. Dylan Dog is a private investigator in New Orleans who finds himself confronted by a part of his past that he thought he'd left behind. Before Dog began catering to the city's sleazy human population, he was an investigator for the paranormal citizens of the city: vampires, werewolves, and zombies all living quietly alongside us. When a werewolf appears to have murdered a human, Dog is drawn back in to his old life to investigate and uncovers a plot to unleash an ancient evil that could wreak havoc on the supernatural underworld before ultimately spilling over onto humanity.

I've seen this movie twice now and I can barely remember anything about it. That's not a good sign. I really thought this movie had the potential to be cool, but it feels more like a SyFy original movie. The story wanders and never builds tension. It just sort of meanders from one plot point to another, lazily following the trail of clues until the final confrontation. And the special effects...wow. I realize this film was a lower budget than usual (compared to your average Hollywood effects-heavy film) at $20 million, but come on. I've seen some pretty amazing films created out of budgets this size. DISTRICT 9 was only $30 million and that movie blew my mind with awesomeness. Dylan DOG's got a decent independent budget and the creature effects in this film feel twenty years old! For example, the "tattooed zombie", a major element of the film that couldn't be bothered with an actual identifying name, looks ridiculous. It's mouth barely moves and it's only means of intimidation is waving it's arms around like a weekly villain from the old "Power Rangers" TV show. I love practical special effects and I prefer some real well done practical creature effects over CGI anytime. But if you can't make a creature look like anything more than a bodybuilder in a bad Halloween mask, perhaps you should consider another option.

Dylan DOG is director Kevin Munroe's second film and, seeing as how his first film was the animated TMNT, I really don't know what I should've expected. TMNT was decent, but I suppose it's not hard to look better when the preceding film in the Ninja Turtle series had men in rubber turtle costumes riding horses. I have to wonder if the effects in this film were so poor, where did the budget go? It couldn't have been the cast. The movie is filled with "Hey, I know that guy from somewhere" level actors. Brandon Routh feels as if he should be A-list by now, but his project selections aren't letting him get far. He showed us he could do comedy with some great jobs in ZACK AND MIRI and SCOTT PILGRIM, but he feels flat here. A couple of one-liners, but mostly emotionless. Sam Huntington is the best part of the film as Dog's newly zombified sidekick Marcus. He gets the best parts of the film and I think the filmmakers realized this because he gets more screen-time than his character probably should. Peter Stormare, the ac

Fmovies: "Everybody else will have a better time revisiting Monster Squad or falling asleep." This was a quote from David White from Movies.com....I should have took heed.

Let me preface this by saying I never knew of any comic book by this name.

I like reading users reviews. Critics can be...well very critical. And at times it seems that they take good movies and just rip them apart until there's nothing left but an unstable skeleton missing all ligaments and tendons. BUT, their reviews of this movie are far more on point than many users.

The movie is exhausting and dragging. There has been only 3 movies that I fell asleep on or didn't finish and this is one of them. I did watch enough to critique though...I fell asleep on the last 15 minutes of the movie and I am not captivated enough to finish it. Much of the acting was below average at best and few characters were believable, including the lead. I don't like spoilers so I won't give any examples, but just look at his expressions when he should have been shocked or surprised and he might as well found a penny on the ground. The romantic attraction wasn't built up nor convincing.

Many lines were corny. Most of the costumes, especially the werewolves were lame - I've seen equivalents at Halloween parties. But to give credit the unique zombie had a good costume though. If you can think of movies where people are constantly punched and kicked and walk away with a small bruise on their face (if anything at all) - this is one of those movies. I know a movie about zombies, vampires and werewolves doesn't represent the most realistic plot but come on...at least try to make something believable. I laughed at 2 scenes which is why the movie got 1 star and the sidekick and Tay Diggs (albeit terrible dialogue) were almost enjoyable, giving the 2 star rating. Had this movie been an episode of Outer Limits I would have given it a 4/5 due to the low expectations of a genre series.

My review stops there so you can stop reading if you want...I'm jumping on a soapbox for a moment. People have the tendency to vote reviews as not helpful if they don't agree with you - not if what the reviewer is saying is true. I'm sure that these are the same kind of people that hate personal criticism, even when it's constructive. I have my guilty pleasures that the general public think suck but the reviews on those movies are usually spot on (but for some silly reason I like the movie). People should try that on for size...you don't have to dislike something to admit it's shortcomings.

I had never heard of the comic book or anything about the character before watching this movie. Now after watching it,I have no desire to know anything more of it. This movie is like a joke that thinks everything dramatic they do is original,when it is no more than a copy of thousands of movies before hand. It's predictable and HORRIBLY acted by the main actor and except for the comic relief of his best friend it's a snore-fest. I actually fell asleep about 75% into the movie and had to go back to watch the last 25% just so I could see if I missed anything great....I did not. Looking for a good scary monster movie? Don't waste your time on this one. It doesn't even rank bad enough to be so bad that you have to watch it. It's just bad.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night fmovies. Okay, so the movie isn't set in London. So there is no Inspector Bloch, Dr. Xabaras, or Groucho Marx. So the zombies are more Shaun of the Dead than Dawn of the Dead. It's still a good movie.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night stars Brandon Routh (Superman Returns, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) as the eponymous "nightmare investigator", with Sam Huntington (Being Human) as his undead sidekick, Marcus. When the movie begins, Dylan has retired from keeping tabs on the paranormal beings that walk among us (and they walk all among us), and has settled into a more conventional private detective gig. One day, though, a potential client named Elizabeth (Anita Briem, Journey to the Center of the Earth) tries to hire Dylan to solve the death of her father. He refuses, until he returns to his office that night to discover Marcus has also been killed. The two slayings are just the beginning, as Dylan, his now zombified assistant, and Elizabeth crisscross New Orleans in search of the monsters responsible.

Now, readers of the Italian comic books on which the film is based have blasted the movie for its "unfaithfulness" to the original works by Tiziano Sclavi. While it would have been nice to see Brandon Routh playing the clarinet once or twice, the realities of movie-making must intrude at some point. A low budget, for example, means not being able to film in London, where the comics are set. The American city of New Orleans probably comes closest in old school creepiness, though (apologies to the people of New Orleans; and of London, I guess). The same goes for Groucho Marx, the black-and-white era comedian on whom the comics' Dylan's assistant is based and whose likeness is very expensive to use in the States. While they show pictures of people in Groucho glasses and posters for Marx Brothers movies, the cost for securing the rights to have an imitator was likely quite high. Even the American adaptation of the comics had to "shave" Groucho's mustache and change his name to Felix for similar reasons. Sam Huntington more than fills the role of "comedy sidekick", though, as he struggles to adjust to the fact that he's dead; and he and Routh have excellent chemistry due to their time working together on Superman Returns.

Anita Briem's character seems like a bit of a misfire at times, but she certainly follows the path of most female characters in the comics. Often, Dylan Dog finds himself taking the case of an attractive young woman who has lost a loved one (or several) and needs his help coming to grips with the supernatural world into which she's been thrust. And while the supernatural world of the movie differs noticeably from that of the comics, the atmosphere it presents is almost instantly recognizable. The walk they take through the streets at night as Dylan tries to open her eyes to the presence of the undead as they literally pass in front of her eyes would not have seemed out of place on Sclavi's pages, I feel. Sure, the monsters themselves are different, but again, you've gotta give American moviegoers a bone every now and then, show them something they'll recognize, as well.

And then there's Dylan himself. Brandon Routh is a fine actor; I don't think anyone can deny that. He works very well with what he's given, and in this case, he did an excellent job as Dylan Dog. The movie character shared much in common with the comics character: mistrust of technology (the comics Dylan refuses to use a cell phone, the movie Dylan

Who doesn't know, Dylan Dog is one of "Bonelli's" characters (Italian "comic-factory") and, like many others "in-house" characters (Martin Mystere, Nathan Never,...), he is a product of...believe it or not...movies! Any classic and really known horror movie is in Dylan Dog comics - Living Dead (saga), Shining, Terminator, vampires, werewolves,... So, how to make a movie from a comic that is made from a movie(s)? Well, I bet it is possible but .... Did any of guys who were working on this movie actually read any comic of Dylan Dog?! He is detective for supernatural, an English from London, his partner is Groucho, all comics are made in really "horror-mood" so why... a comedy?!? This movie is lousy and completely....wrong! For sure, not for fans of Dylan Dog :( Hope one day somebody will make "a real" Dylan Dog movie!

This movie is bad as an American action/comedy/horror flick and downright offensive as a DylanDog transposition.

None of the characters are there, including Dylan, the humor is not there, the sweet sadness that pervades the comic is gone, the story is gone. Instead we have a badass, wisecracking dude punching demons or zombies or whatever.

Like someone else already suggested, watch "Cemetery man" aka "Dellamorte Dellamore" instead. it's weird, not for everyone, but it's the closest thing to a DylanDog movie out there.

Either read the comics first or don't come back with a sequel