Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

At Dawn They Sleep Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 30, 2023

2000’s “At Dawn They Sleep” intends to rethink the concept of a vampire movie. Writer/director/star Brian Paulin hopes to disrupt typical horror happenings with this shot-on-video endeavor, which doesn’t showcase any heroes, just villains, engaged in a battle of Heaven and Hell, which somehow involves the process of feeding on flesh, car chases, and John Woo-style shootouts. Paulin inhales a great number of cinematic influences to help breathe life into the picture, which is a backyard production, but makes some effort to be a little bigger than the average SOV offering. “At Dawn They Sleep” is ambitious, which is nice to see, and the Fangoria generation is likely the target demographic for the feature, as it’s filled with blood and guts, scored to death metal selections. Refined filmmaking and decent performances aren’t invited to the party, but Paulin makes a noticeable effort to do something askew here, which makes a difference.

Stephen (Brian Paulin) is the top drug dealer in town, working with partner Ian (Rich George) to own the market, selling poison to the masses. They have a rival in Billy Rae (Matt Trottier), and he’s not taking defeat well, making plans to reclaim his lost territory. Stephen and Ian live for pleasures of the flesh, ending up bedding two strange women who aren’t women at all, but a pair of diabolical angels looking to create vampiric slaves, biting them during their sexual experiences. Physically transformed into monsters, the partners begin to enjoy their powers, but Stephen takes this new life in a different direction, showing newfound aggression and desire to kill. He’s approached by the horned demon Lynxvosmia, turned into an angel hunter, searching for the women who bit him, while Ian pushes back on Stephen’s ways, looking to destroy his pal.

“At Dawn They Sleep” explores a seedier side of life, with Stephen an aspiring drug lord happy to ruin lives to help make a buck, which he promptly spends on prostitutes. He’s not a likeable guy, and viewers are stuck with him throughout the picture, with the story tracking his journey from a corrupt human being to a corrupt vampiric one. He’s joined by Ian, who’s not the brains of the operation, and a tale of territorial warfare is teased with the presence of Billy Rae, a goon not happy about losing his business to a man in black with Juice Newton hair. Stephen is tough and ready to rule, but he makes a key mistake when trying to score with a mysterious woman, resulting in a monstrous transformation.

The whole angel aspect of “At Dawn They Sleep” is hazy, with little time devoted to understanding why these women, normally associated with all that’s good about religious belief, are now baddies bent on devouring undersexed men. Paulin adds some exposition, but he doesn’t try to process it in an inviting way, and more strangeness is added with the arrival of Lynxvosmia, a hulking black demon who’s happy to watch Stephen turn to the dark side, encouraging him to follow his black heart into heavier violence. Without budgetary might to do something huge with his concept, Paulin keeps things earthbound with action sequences, scrounging up some cars to smash up, rooms to destroy, and guns to fire, going full Woo as the characters leap around locations shooting at one another. Dialogue is also derivative, as Paulin tries to sustain a Tarantino-like vibe, keeping characters in full banter mode as they debate the merits of “Battlestar Galactica” and “Star Trek,” while Rob (Rob Cupertino), a local stooge, steals screen time with a rant about Metallica’s “Load”-era tour of poseur-dom.

At Dawn They Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "At Dawn They Sleep" is perhaps a bit better than the average SOV release. The viewing experience remains somewhat clear, offering a basic appreciation of frame activity, especially gore zone visits, which retain their intended gruesomeness. Colors are acceptable, with greenery passable, along with slightly varied costuming. Delineation is adequate for this type of moviemaking, but the endeavor does favor darkness and black clothing. Source is in decent condition.

At Dawn They Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix provides a simple understanding of dialogue exchanges. Intelligibility is acceptable, but the mix runs into trouble with demon voices, which aren't always clear (subtitling gives up as well), but this appears to be an inherent issue. Scoring supports with a thin synth sound. Death metal soundtrack selections lack fullness, but chaotic instrumentation and growling vocals are appreciable.

At Dawn They Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features writer/director Brian Paulin and producer/actor Rich George.

• Commentary #2 (recorded in 2004) features writer/director Brian Paulin and producer/actor Rich George.

• "Outbreak of Evil" (34:38, HD) is a making-of for "At Dawn They Sleep," featuring interviews with writer/director Brian Paulin and producer/actor Rich George. Paulin explores his deep love for horror movies, getting access to a camera in high school, joining George on a filmmaking journey that started with shorts before feature-length ambition was found. "Reap of Evil" was their first production, but American horror was lacking spirit and guts in the 1990s, with Paulin turning to action cinema for creative inspiration. Production soon began on "At Dawn They Sleep," with Paulin laboring to do something different with the concepts of vampires. Production details are explored, including stunt work involving cars and guns, with George actually receiving some training in the art of physical danger. Makeup work is also analyzed. Distribution woes are recalled, with the VHS and DVD releases sold as softcore pornography, limiting sales. BTS footage is periodically displayed during the featurette.

• Archival Making-Of (14:18, SD) returns to writer/director Brian Paulin and producer/actor Rich George, who explore the creation of "At Dawn They Sleep."

• Outtakes (5:53, SD) highlight flubbed lines, giggle fits, and on-set mistakes.

• "Scenes that Hurt" (2:29, SD) collect rougher outtakes from stunt sequences.

• Bonus Movie: "Reap of Evil" (82:37, SD) is a 1994 film created by writer/director Brian Paulin and producer/actor Rich George.

• Commentary on "Reap of Evil" features writer/director Brian Paulin and producer/actor Rich George.

• "Hell Awaits" (11:37, SD) is a new making-of for "Reap of Evil," featuring an interview with writer/director Brian Paulin.

• Image Gallery (2:16) collects BTS images.

• And a Trailer (1:11, SD) is included.

At Dawn They Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"At Dawn They Sleep" gets real lost as it tries to find an ending, with Paulin going surreal and interpretational, which doesn't work. He's much better with the gross stuff, as the movie is filled with bodily fluids and ripped flesh, trying to put on a makeup effects show that's okay for this level of filmmaking, and the spirit of gore counts for something. "At Dawn They Sleep" isn't a particularly good picture, with the cast visibly struggling to express emotion, but it does have oddity, a circus-like atmosphere (complete with fire-breathing tricks), and some campy touches, including Lynxvosmia's gift of a human baby for Stephen to devour when he's been a good boy. SOV productions are typically stiff and tedious, and there are times with Paulin stumbles with his epic vision. But there are ideas here that are interesting, giving the endeavor a nice boost of imagination at times.