Children of a Darker Dawn

Director - Jason Figgis (The Twilight Hour: Visions of Ireland's Haunted Past)
Starring - Catherine Wrigglesworth (Derelict), Emily Forster, and Ellen Mullen (The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror/Drama
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When 2012 rolled around the movie scene saw more apocalyptic films than they knew what to do with.  The Mayan prophecy is the reason for this but this is a trend that never died with the beginning of 2013 but has continued to prosper into one of the longest running fads I have seen in recent years.  Most of these films take the shape of the zombie apocalypse while others follow plagues, natural disasters, and so forth.  Early last year I was sent the Irish horror film Children of a Darker Dawn to review along with about 10 other films.  I really wanted to check this one out but I was sent other films, had to work, and so forth so I never really had the time to check it out until now.
     The film follows two sisters who roam the Irish countryside searching for food and other necessities.  The adult population has been destroyed thanks to a viral disease leaving the children and teenagers to fight for survival.  The two sisters come across other clans of kids fighting for survival as well but these clicks are very territorial and usually results in fights when they come in contact with one another but they all have to learn to work together if they wish to survive.
     I don't mind the occasional apocalyptic horror film but they have to hold my attention.  Most of these films go the action route where we constantly have something going on to hold my attention while others attempt to go the route popular with The Walking Dead and give the viewer some drama with their horror.  Sadly, this film went the second route and it resulted in one of the slowest films I have ever had to endure.  The acting in this film is very amateurish which made most of the scenes a chore to finish.  Most of the cast has a hard time conveying emotion and when they try to show anger they just yelled at each other which made it almost impossible to hear what they were saying.  Sometimes its easier to let your facial expressions show emotions instead of your volume.  The story for this one is one we have seen before but never taken the way this film has.  We have seen films consisting of just children fighting to survive without the supervision of adults.  The most notable film like that is Lord of the Flies which this film reminded me a lot of but it did not feel like a horror film at all.  In fact, I felt like I was watching a reality television show featuring a bunch of teenagers who could not get along with anyone.  It was boring and poorly executed.  Finally, the film does not really offer the horror fan any on screen kills or great practical effects.  All we get is kills off camera and fake blood here and there.  Overall, Children of a Darker Dawn is a film that attempts to be a realistic apocalyptic film that turns up the drama but throws away the substance.  The film is boring and flat.  I can not recommend this one.