Movie genres are mixed and match time and time again. Recently they mixed sci fi and the western resulting in COWBOYS & ALIENS. Sci fi was mixed with the samurai film for BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. So nothing seems unusual when you mix comedy with horror and come up with something surprisingly delightful like DYLAN DOG.
Based on the comic book series by the same name, DYLAN DOG tells the tale of a private eye with a past that is slowly revealed as the film progresses. Dylan (Brandon Routh) picks up the usual divorce case here and there and has help from his friend Marcus (Sam Huntington). It takes place in New Orleans, a town twisted in mystery and the occult, both of which come into play throughout the film.
The film opens with an apparent murder to which Dylan is called by the victim’s daughter, Elizabeth (Anita Briem). When Dylan asks why she called him, she hands him a card and he turns down the job and leaves rather suddenly.
When Dylan returns to his office later that night, he finds Marcus dead on the floor, his chest ripped open. Because of this loss, Dylan comes out of retirement from his previous job and starts the hunt for the killer of Elizabeth’s father and Marcus, a killer he believes is the same person.
As he explains it later, Dylan’s original job was as a policeman of sorts for all of the unnatural beings that had gathered in New Orleans, a town well suited for their needs. Vampires, werewolves, ghouls and zombies all live in New Orleans but people tend to just look the other way, knowing inside they’re there but never acknowledging them. These creatures of the night have a truce that prevents them from taking on the normal people of the world. When one would step out, Dylan was the man to bring them in. But something happened that made him quit.
Fortunately for Dylan, Marcus rises from his slab in the morgue and becomes one of the living dead. Marcus doesn’t find this fortunate though and throughout the film tries to deny this fact. Much of the humor in this film comes from Marcus and his situation such as his refusal to eat maggots to survive. Yes it’s a gross joke but trust me when I say that in the hands of the group that brought this movie to life it becomes quite funny.
Dylan reunites with old friends and foes as he tries to uncover the mystery behind the deaths and why an importer like Elizabeth’s father would hold any interest for the creatures he protects. You see Dylan isn’t about hunting monsters but about protecting them…unless they defy the truce and take out innocent humans.
Meetings with zombies and vampires result with little to go on but a series of clues strung together like the best mysteries written. Each one ends with another clue that moves you further down the line to who is behind it all. And that isn’t revealed until the last act.
I’ve never read the comic but word is they’ve done it justice here. With a limited budget to work with, the writers, director, cast and crew have pulled off a great combination of humor and horror that holds your interest till the end. Better yet, it leaves you wanting more, wishing that this would become a series of films rather than a single effort. The so so reception at the box office doesn’t seem to make one think this will happen, but perhaps with an interest in the DVD it will.
Routh does a great job here. Many will recall him playing the title character in SUPERMAN RETURNS. Thoughts that he would be saddled with the character alone are tossed aside as he brings a life to Dylan here. The character is confident whether facing down a client’s husband or a raging vampire, even if he does get tossed across a room. The words that come out of his mouth evoke the usual tough P.I. genre but his look is far from it. And yet it works.
My favorite actor here though is Sam Huntington as Marcus. He truly has the funniest lines in the film. But it’s not just the lines but how he delivers them that make them funny as well as the physical aspects he displays here. After watching him you’ll first find yourself saying “I know I’ve seen this guy before” and then discover you’ll want to search out other movies he has been in.
This is not over the top film making with an extensive budget to bring about special effects and more. But it works. And it entertains. And there’s not much more a person could hope for in a movie these days.
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