Comic book movies are a staple of the summer movie season. 2011 is another big year for Marvel with Thor, X-Men: First Class, and Captain America while DC and Warner Brothers look to reinvigorate their characters with Green Lantern. There are also lesser-known, non-superhero properties like Cowboys & Aliens and Priest. Then, there's Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, an obscure picture based on an obscure comic. Dylan Dog is a paranormal investigator created by Italian author Tiziano Sciavi. Though virtually unknown in the States, the comics are extremely popular in Europe. This reviewer is unfamiliar with the source material, aside from the knowledge that Dog's sidekick was a Groucho Marx impersonator. Sadly, Groucho doesn't make it into the movie due to likeness issues. Previous awareness doesn't matter since the movie is only loosely based on the original character. Dead of Night was savaged by Italian critics and fans while meeting with deaf ears in the U.S. due to a miniscule theatrical run.
Former Superman Brandon Routh looks to head up another comic book franchise by stepping into the title role. Routh even enlists the aid of Superman Returns co-star Sam Huntington (who played Jimmy Olsen) as his mystery solving partner. This version of Dylan Dog is a private investigator based in New Orleans and specializing in the supernatural. His motto, "No pulse, no problem." After a tragic case that resulted in the death of his wife, Dylan gives up the paranormal detective game and makes his money by taking dirty pictures of adulterous husbands and wives.
Dylan is dragged back into that world by Elizabeth (Anita Briem), whose father, a dealer of antiquities, is apparently murdered by a werewolf. Dylan traverses the various factions in the city with the biggest power players being Gabriel (Peter Stormare), the patriarch of a werewolf family, and Vargas (Taye Diggs), a nightclub owner and leader of the vampires. Meanwhile, Dylan's buddy, Marcus (Huntington), is killed and brought back to life as a zombie. Luckily, Marcus attends a zombie support group to help manage his condition.
Dead of Night slavishly follows the basic formula of a film noir with a dour detective as the protagonist. He encounters double crosses, a femme fatale, and bad guys who tell him to lay off the case. The plot centers around the search for a McGuffin, in this case, it's a powerful artifact known as the Heart of Belial. If you've seen any classic noir like The Maltese Falcon or Chinatown, then you'll easily see every twist and turn coming a mile away. The film is also littered with the requisite voiceover with Routh robotically reciting Raymond Chandler-esque narration throughout the story.
It's too bad Routh got the boot as the Man of Steel. He made a passable Superman and an excellent Clark Kent. Perhaps, if the movie was more action and less soap opera, he might still be donning the iconic red and blue suit. Routh has shown he has comedic talents when given better material as evidenced in Zack & Miri Make a Porno and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. In Dead of Night, Routh is an uncharismatic bore monotonously delivering his leaden lines. His castmates are equally lifeless to the point where the notoriously hammy Peter Stormare can't be bothered to do anything memorable. As the other primary antagonist, Taye Diggs is thoroughly unconvincing as a ruthless vampire with blinged out fangs. Huntington is downright annoying after seemingly graduating from the Shia LaBeouf School for Comic Relief Sidekicks. Huntington even dresses as LaBeouf did in I, Robot and Constantine.
Dead of Night was directed by Kevin Munroe, a former animator whose only previous directing credit was on 2007's TMNT. Munroe surely gave it his best effort in spite of a limited budget of $8 million. Yet, the action scenes are thoroughly pedestrian and the werewolf make-up is utterly laughable. Gabriel's son, Wolfgang (randomly played by pro wrestler and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle) looks like he's wearing a cheap-o mask from Party City when he morphs into wolf form. The vampires appear to have been recycled from the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer also penned the atrocious adaptations Sahara and A Sound of Thunder as well as the upcoming Conan the Barbarian. Doesn't bode well for fans of the Cimmerian conqueror.
It's not all bad. There are a couple cool ideas scattered about. Dylan arms himself with wood tipped bullets and silver knuckles. Vampires sell their blood to humans as a designer drug. Zombies frequent chop shops that sell replacement limbs for the undead.
The cheesy movie review headline for this would be Dead of Night is dead on arrival. The film completely misses the mark for what could have been a fun mash-up of noir, horror, and comic book action. Dead of Night is to Dylan Dog as Constantine is to John Constantine. It's a pale imitation with direct-to-video level production values.
Rating: * (*****)
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