Daylight Fades DVD Review

Written by Charlotte Stear

DVD released by Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Directed by Brad Ellis
Written by Allen Gardner

2012, 2 (PAL), 95 minutes, Rated 15

DVD released on 5th March 2012

Starring:
Matthew Stiller as Johnny
Rachel Miles as Elizabeth
Allen Gardner as Seth
Rachel Kimsey as Raven
Kim Justis as Sarah
Dennis Phillippi as Patrick
Michael Gravois as Tim
Drew Smith as Jake

Daylight Fades Dvd Cover

Review:

Ah falling in love with a vampire, that old chestnut. If you have been feeling a bit deprived of romantic vampire movies recently then you are in luck. Daylight Fades incorporates vampires and humans falling in love, but luckily for us this time there are no werewolves.

Johnny (Matthew Stiller) is a shy, sweet guy with very little confidence when it comes to the ladies so luckily he meets a girl brash enough to ask him out. Elizabeth (Rachel Miles) is ballsy and not into commitment, so when Johnny becomes infatuated it begins to scare her off. It is only when Johnny is involved in a car accident that threatens his life that she realises what he really means to her. When it begins to look like there is no hope for Johnny, a man from Elizabeth’s past steps out from the shadows to save the man she loves. However, Johnny has now gone from the brink of death to eternal life which means nothing will be the same again.

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I’m not the kind of person that would compare every vampire film out there to the Twilight series, there are plenty of uniquely brilliant vampire movies that are doing different things (Stake Land, Let The Right One In) but Daylight Fades doesn’t do itself any favours, even the DVD title page depicts the lead characters in a Bella and Edward pose that seems a bit too copycat. There is also the introduction of a flame haired evil vampire called Raven, which will draw numerous comparisons to Victoria of Stephanie Meyer’s book series. If you’re going to be doing this type of flick then it’s better to stay away from any of those parallels. I love vampire movies and I don’t want them to become tired and overdone, but this onslaught of brooding, sexy stories of love-torn of humans and vampires has had its day and unless you can bring something new to the table, it’s not going to get you far. Sadly Daylight Fades falls into that category and fails to bring anything original to our screens.

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While the story does not give us much, I did enjoy the music and cinematography, reflecting on some great choices by director Brad Ellis. There are some really beautiful shots of the town it is set in, to some stunning sunrises which work well with the dramatic climax of the film. The acting is not bad, it’s not great either, but the lead roles show promise after a somewhat shaky start and there was some comic relief from Drew Smith as Jake which was welcome.

The problem is this film is not sure who its audience is. Anyone massively into horror will be disappointed as there isn’t much in the way of gore or scares, and anyone going into this as a romance movie again will not get that much out of it as the film is long and doesn’t connect with the audience to gain that emotional appeal. It does not sit right with any particular genre and with it never being sure of itself, the audience can’t be sure of it either.

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Video and Audio:

There were no problems whatsoever with either the audio or video, in fact the video was very clear and crisp which is why the sunrise scenes were especially eye-popping. The DVD is shown in 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio.