B'Twixt Now and Sunrise

Director - Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now)

Starring - Val Kilmer (Tombstone, Real Genius), Bruce Dern (The 'Burbs, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre), and Elle Fanning (Super 8, The Neon Demon)

Release Date - 2022/2011

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Some mysteries needs to be solved"

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I love movies that are odd and go against the grain. Movies that are meant not to fit in or made to stand out always catch my eye. I’ve watched movies about killer condoms, a living placenta, turd monsters, people eating shit to survive, and so on. I absolutely love this side of cinema and I love movies that does not try to impress anyone. They have a story to tell and they don’t care if you like it or not. A few weeks ago I received the press release for B’Twixt Now and Sunrise. This Francis Ford Coppola directed film was originally released in 2011 under the title Twixt. This was the first I was hearing about it and with the UHD release hitting store shelves I was very curious about it. I reached out and was lucky enough to get a copy of the film for review. 

      The film follows the “dollar bin Stephen King” Hall Baltimore (Kilmer) who is doing a book signing tour through various small towns. He finds himself in a town with a dark history and once housed the legendary Edgar Allen Poe. He begins working with the town’s sheriff, Bobby LaGrange (Dern), on a novel while researching the town’s past involving a mass murder when a religious father kills his children along with suspicion that a group of free loving goths are vampires. 

      I went into this one very curious and excited. I saw the imdb page prior to reviewing this and was very curious when I saw that someone was portraying Edgar Allen Poe along with seeing Val Kilmer and Bruce Dern on screen together. Sadly, these two were one of the few redeeming qualities of this film. I don’t know who the intended audience for this one is but it wasn’t for movie fans like myself. The acting in this one is so much fun. Val Kilmer and Bruce Dern work so well together. I love their characters and their clashing personalities is one of the few reasons I could finish the film. The supporting cast is great as well but Dern and Kilmer’s interactions are a highlight. The story for this one is all over the place. We never know if the film is supposed to be a ghost tale or one about vampires. Instead, it bounces between the two while the viewer is taken through Baltimore’s wake and dreaming state. It is very confusing and difficult to follow but has some beautiful imagery. This doesn’t make up for the lack of coherent story telling but it’s still nice to look at. Finally, the film has some blood and some make up effects. With that being said, it relies heavily on visual effects. Some look great especially for being over 10 years old while some scenes look very cheap and dated. Overall, B’Twixt Now and Sunrise is a confusing and difficult film to follow. I loved the acting and the idea behind the film but the overall movie is one I can’t recommend. Skip it.