Like a cross between Constantine, True Blood and some hard-boiled detective flick, the Dylan Dog movie is an enjoyable enough little movie that has the major misfortune of not being quite as good as any of the examples just listed. It also, it would appear, failed to satisfy those who enjoyed the character in comic book form.
Brandon Routh plays the detective who deals with the supernatural as a case breaks that involves vampires, werewolves, zombies and some normal folk too. Someone is trying to summon a big, powerful demon. That’s not good. It’s up to Dylan, and his assistant Marcus (played by Sam Huntington) , to find out just who is doing what and maintain the “super”natural order.
Mixing some enjoyable special effects, a great cast and a script that tries hard to mine a vein of macabre humour, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night is watchable and enjoyable but it’s nothing truly great.
Screenwriters Joshua Oppenheimer and Thomas Dean Donnelly seem to be the masters of this type of just-edging-above-average work (having also written A Sound Of Thunder and the latest Conan film). The cool dialogue isn’t quite as cool as they clearly intended it to be and the jokes aren’t quite as funny.
Director Kevin Munroe can share the blame, his execution of the material often leaves it feeling like an extended TV episode as opposed to a self-contained film. The Dresden Files kept springing to mind and, during the weaker moments, I was giving more attention to my memories of enjoying that show than to what was occurring onscreen.
Thankfully, the cast are all entertaining enough and do well with what they’re given. Routh is someone I have always liked and he’s excellent here. Sam Huntington provides many of the comedy and is a likeable sidekick. Peter Stormare growls while he tolerates the presence of our hero in yet another reminder of Constantine. Taye Diggs has fun as Vargas, a vampire with ambition, Anita Briem is the lady who hires Dylan and Kurt Angle lends his weight to the role of Wolfgang.
There are lots of great moments here (a visit to a “body shop”, the sequence in which Dylan tries to keep his client safe from a vampire attack and a fun finale amongst others) but they’re just interspersed throughout a film that never attains any consistent level of quality compared to the many reference points that viewers of this genre fare will undoubtedly have in their minds. Still a fun flick worth a rental though.
For the time being, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night is only available via import for those of us here in the British Isles. It is due to be released to shiny disc here in the UK at some point early in 2012. Why? I have no idea.
DIRECTOR: KEVIN MUNROE
STARS: BRANDON ROUTH, SAM HUNTINGTON, PETER STORMARE, TAYE DIGGS, ANITA BRIEM, KURT ANGLE
RUNTIME: 107 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: USA
Film Rating: 
