really wish I could say this film was worth the price of admission but sadly it wasn't. The studios should have shot the movie straight to DVD and saved the money it spent on promotions. That being said, the choice of Brandon Routh as Dylan Dog failed, leaving me to expect him to rip open his shirt to expose Superman Underoos during the first half of the movie and wishing he was torn alive by flesh eating zombies throughout the remaining half. Not having read any of the comics left me at the will of the director to develop some kind of background during the beginning, something that did happen sporadically throughout the film, but to no real advantage to the movie itself. And despite a favorable performance by Sam Huntington as Dylan’s undead sidekick Marcus, the movie really did not grab ahold of me at any point.
The story itself follows Dylan Dog, who was once the go-to guy for the paranormal beings in New Orleans. His role is to basically “protect them from themselves” as Dylan puts it. When a young woman's father is murdered, she attempts to hire the P.I. to solve the crime but he is reluctant until his friend Marcus is killed. Dylan then discovers a scheme involving an ancient artifact which if activated could destroy the undead population. He then must locate and prevent the artifact from getting in the wrong hands, protect his client, and help his undead partner adjust to a new zombie lifestyle.
Granted, there were some humorous scenes that delivered well, but, even so, the film's FX were painfully low budget, the werewolf makeup was something out of a memorable Michael J. Fox film, the vampires straight from Buffy, and the “boss villain” seemingly savaged from the original Lost Boys movie. Overall, this is a rental, if there is nothing better to spend your dollar on at the rental machines outside the grocery store.
Dyan Dog: Dead of Night is an adaptation of one of Italy's longest running and most popular comic series which follows the adventures of a supernatural private eye and his friends. The story revolves around Dylan Dog, the world’s only private investigator of the undead with a business card that features his slogan, “investigator of the paranormal: no pulse, no problem.” Along with his assistant Marcus, Dylan will go where the living dare not -- facing down friend and foe alike, until justice is done.