Damned by Dawn movie review (2010)

Damned by Dawn (2010)

Premiered last year at the 'Screamfest Horror Film Festival', but wide released in 2010, "Damned by Dawn" is a spooky Aussie horror flick, where a supernatural force holds a chilling grip over a remote, primitive farming community where Claire arrives to visit her ailing grandmother. On her deathbed, the old woman warns Claire about the cost of interfering with a powerful spirit coming to claim her soul, and when the rest of the family fails to heed these ancient traditions, the dead are called up from their graves for a bloody night of retribution that leaves carnage and monstrous mayhem in its wake. "Damned by Dawn" is clearly inspired by Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" series, and while it's a good campy fun, the film is, sadly, not on par with the popular horror franchise, as it's only mildly scary and at times pretty cheesy. However, if it weren't the silly looking flying skeletons and the super-lame special effects, "Damned by Dawn" could have been a great little horror gem. Despite the obvious low budget, the film has pretty slick visuals and decent production values. The wood scenery is highly atmospneric, especially during night scenes, and the dark, muted colors of the visuals set quite a grim mood. Plus, the cave sequence is thoroughly chilling and truly claustrophobic. Having said that, the smoke effects are a bit overdone and overused, which isn't really necessary, because the film looks good enough without them. "Damned by Dawn"is certainly not scary, and yet it's truly creepy. The 'Mother of Sorrow' looks pretty terrifying and her insane screaming totally gave me the chills. The acting in this film ranges from mediocre to decent. Renee Willner as the main character, Claire, gives a an above average performance, if a bit over-the-top - she does a good job overall, and the fear is written all over her face constantly. Dawn Klingberg as Claire's grandma, Nana, also deliver a good performance - she looks pretty spooky here, and she's completely convincing throughout the film. The acting from the supporting cast is just mediocre and pretty unmemorable. Overall, "Damned by Dawn" is visually-striking, creepy and fairly entertaining, but it's hugely let down by its cheesiness.

• My Rating: 5.25/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
• IMDb: 4.2/10

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen movie review (2010)

Legend of the Fist:
The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)

Set in 1920s Shanghai, Andrew Lau's latest effort tells the story of Chen Zhen, who single-handedly avenges his mentor’s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Now, years later, Chen Zhen, who is believed dead, returns in disguise to infiltrate a criminal empire and to dismantle the evil collusion that plagues the country. After a '10 out of 10' opening sequences full of dynamic and spectacular stunts, "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" somewhat loses its energy, but fortunately it picks up later on to deliver a passable entertainment for all martial arts and action fans. The film feels a bit unfocused and incoherent at times, as it's muddled with far too many sub-plots and undeveloped characters, but as a whole, while not as satisfying as I hoped, the story is decent enough and still manages to hold viewer's attention most of the way through. Performance-wise, "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" is just okay. Donnie Yen is absolutely thrilling to watch, during the fight scenes, and he also does a good job in portraying the title character. He certainly grew up as an actor over the years, and it shows. Qi Shu is a charming and very charismatic Asian actress, but her character Kiki is pretty unlikable - she's just mincing around, not doing much but smoking and drinking. The rest of the supporting actors also give good performances. Special mention goes to Ryu Kohata, as the nasty and evilicious Colonel Chikaraishi. The action sequences, choreographed by Donnie Yen himself are decent, yet rather unimpressive. The fights themseves are so short, that they fail to provide total satisfaction, excluding the opening action scene, which is nothing short of breathtaking. Visually, "Legend of the Fist" is truly arresting, as it offers gorgeous settings of 1920s Shanghai, and the music score is good enough to raise tension when needed. While it doesn't rank among the best martial arts flick ever made, "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" is a well-shot, nicely-choreographed and fairly entertaining action flick, that hardly disappoints.

• My Rating: 7.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 50% (2 Reviews)
• IMDb: 6.1/10