Some parts great, some parts not so much
'Sick of waiting for Evil Dead 4? Check Out Damned by Dawn...' says the DVD cover, along with 'A whole lot of Raimi in Aussie shocker Damned by Dawn', and 'When the Banshee cries, the Dead will rise'.
After receiving a mysterious gift from her dying grandmother, Claire takes her new boyfriend home to meet her family who live on an isolated property in the country. The family reunion begins well but Claire soon becomes increasingly uneasy with her grandmother's medicated ramblings about a screaming banshee intent on coming for her in the night. It's not long before the family's worst fears become their reality as the banshee and her army of undead arrive to unleash blood soaked fury on them all.
I bought this for Halloween 2010 and I've seen it a few times since. It's low budget, but looks great, with an atmospheric location, a good story, and solid performances. The Raimi/Evil Dead comparison unfortunately raises the bar of expectation, but there's no getting away from the rapid 'Raimi-cam through the woods', the book that explains all, the siege-like feeling, and even the use of the line 'Join us'! The first half sets things up nicely, and gives all the backstory we need; the second half is where it shows its limitations. Other than the Banshee herself (more on her in a mo), the undead are almost entirely CGI. And it's poor. Heavy use of fog tries to hide it, but the figures look cheaply done - frustrating, given how much effort went into everything else. But the Banshee... Actress Bridget Neval knocks it out of the park. She looks great, wearing what appears to be a tattered wedding dress, with grey skin, lank hair, black nails/lips/tongue, whilst bleeding from both eyes where she's cried so much over the years. She exudes menace, and her screams were all apparently recorded on-set - no enhancement afterwards. That is one impressive set of lungs.
I've seen reviewers tear into this movie, and it doesn't deserve it IMO. They aimed high, and did pretty well. 6/10 share