Sunrise

The story is a bit of a riff on the classic vampire tail with some Stephen King elements thrown in. Racist small town terrorizes newcomer Asian family. A stranger crosses paths with this family. He may be friend or foe. His status is not exactly made clear through the film. What is clear is that the direction is awful. What is clear is that script is thin and threadbare but there is enough to make a decent movie with if you have a good director and acting talent. The direction is terrible. At times the film seems to try to have David Lynch moments. What you are left with is a series of shots of dear throughout the film that only add more confusion.

The lead actor is also beyond wooden. He walks around the entire film with a dead stare, which you could argue is part of his character. Except he also acts that way during a scene with someone close to him in which great emotion is expected. Guy Pearce (the reason I saw the film) is his usual great. But he does a lot while given very little and in the end can't carry the entire film or make up for it's shortcomings.

In the end, I'm not going to say not to watch the film, especially if you like Guy Pearce, but do not expect it to be a good one.

Let me start by saying that if you're interested in this movie because of its vampire theme or the intriguing title, you should not bother. The story follows an Asian family who are being harassed by a white supremacist, played very well by Guy Pearce, when suddenly a mysterious man shows up and something does not seem right about him.

The movie is much more of a drama than a horror film and barely features any horror elements, which could have definitely elevated the whole experience. Instead, it focuses on a slowly progressing narrative and a rather random subplot involving the son being bullied, which felt unnecessary.

To be fair, the cinematography and acting deserve some credit. There are some beautiful shots of what is supposed to be the American Pacific Northwest, even though it was filmed in Ireland. The performances are also solid overall and I cannot blame the actors for the fact that the movie ends up being pretty dull.

The vampire theme barely plays a role in the story and honestly could have been left out entirely. Either commit to the vampire angle and make it interesting or leave it out. Here, it is awkwardly thrown in without any real impact. There is also nothing about a sunrise or anything else that would justify the movie's title.

In the end, this results in an uneven film with good acting and cinematography but a boring and uneventful script that leaves you feeling unsatisfied. I would not say the movie is completely terrible but you will not miss much if you skip it. [4,6/10]

For some reason I decided to watch this movie without even looking at the IMDB rating beforehand which I rarely do. Man did I mess up and waste my time.

Guy Pearce was wasted on this film but I hope at least he got a decent paycheck out of it because he did try to carry the movie; but....that was too much weight to carry sorry. The rest of the cast was pretty forgettable and I can tell some of them tried but just weren't convincing.

Now for the plot and the pacing.....yeesh...I would attribute it to taking a M. Night Shyamalan movie with no twist or eeriness and combining it with a shoddy origin antihero story like Morbius or Kraven The Hunter. It felt weird and forced. It was boring at the best of times and wacky writing any of the other times.

Don't even watch this if you are bored; that's all.

Sat down to watched this tonight and was very excited at both the premise and, the both Guy Pierce and Pettyfur were starring.

While production is decent, acting is very good (with some dialogue & scenes being excellent) - this is Guy Pierce, after all, even great acting cannot salvage what is ultimately an extremely boring movie overall.

The title of the movie is also very confusing not to mention the story itself. There are a number of plot holes which leave the viewer asking obvious questions, for which, there are no answers in the themes nor in the dialogue to explain.

All of this while trying not to fall asleep at what are some extremely long, completely unnecessary & repetitive scenes. Excruciatingly long camera pans of objects such as a chain, wind up just being utterly boring instead of building tension or fear

Outside of Pierce's acting or a desire to take a nap, I would skip this one entirely tbh. 5/10 for the acting & cinematography.

In a sea of brooding trench coat and hillbullies, Guy Pierce's acting shines like a beacon of hope. Sadly, the monsters seem to be on a coffee break, leaving us pondering life's mysteries instead. The revenge plot? About as thrilling as watching paint dry. With more loose ends than a cat's yarn ball, the film's potential fizzles faster than a vampire in sunlight. And don't get me started on the broodiness - it's like waiting for a magician to pull a rabbit out of an empty hat, mystical but ultimately disappointing.

In a world saturated with vampire tales, you'd think we'd see the bloodsuckers coming from a mile away. But no, we're left scratching our heads as the supposed monster - more like a vampire with an identity crisis - requires guns, gasoline, and fire to inflict any damage. Talk about a plot twist as predictable as a sunrise. I rest my case.