Dawning

Hollywood litters our theatres with shit, pure shit, sure some hollywood films are good, some are even great, but the shit still stinks. Just look at stuff like Twilight & Transformers 2, both made tons of cash, while films like Observe & Report and Adventureland don't, but not all films are made for the masses, so i'm not here to complain about films not making money, i'm here to say films like Trick R Treat should've gone to theatres, instead of straight to video. Today i watched a film i thought was great, a film i was sent as a screener, Dawning, and it is worth checking out.

The story begins with siblings Aurora(Najara Townsend) & Chris(Jonas Goslow) going to their dad's cabin, their dad Richard(David CoraL) is married to a new woman Laura(christine Kellog Darrin), whom the "kids" aren't too fond of. On the way there Chris sees something run past his car, but is unsure of what it is, once they arrive, they notice their dog Brandi is outside do to fleas, Aurora doesn't care for this as she deeply loves the dog. While roasting marshmallows she tries to find Brandi, only to her laying down bleeding. In a sad scene Richard & Chris must put Brandi out of her misery, soon after a man(Danny Salemen) arrives holding the family hostage. He has blood on him but not his own, and claims something is outside that will kill them all. Eventually he gets tied up, and Richard ventures outside, he hears a noise & investigates. His family begins to panic when he doesn't return so Laura goes in search for him. Chris gets weary when she doesn't return either but he find both of them, Laura laying dead, Richard with a gun in his hand, said gun is soon pointed at Chris but seconds later he is in the cabin with a shotgun which he uses to kill the man & then points it at his sister, he lets her go but he comes with. The two are involved in an accident to which Chris demands Aurora runs, she does just that but the road leads back to the cabin, the film closes with Aurora being the last survivor.

What kills them? Well if you listen to the music score & look the the shots, it's very much inspired by The Evil Dead, so it's possible the woods themselves, they're alive Ashley(sorry had to), but it builds up great paranoia with characters hearing others when no one is even talking, phones going haywire, and usage of great sound mixing. The acting isn't that bad, everyone does a decent job, the story is simple yet effective, but i loved the direction, i really want to see more from Gregg Holtgrew, as he seems to study the films he obviously was inspired by, plus anyone who will throw in a Into The Wild reference is cool in my book! There might be some shit in theatres but take a look at Dawning, and you'll know greatness doesn't always go to theatres. Was my first screener review and i am very pleased, wasn't sure what to expect, but was blown away by this little gem! Seek this gem out, cause that what it is a gem, and better than alot of shit in theatres!