The Harsh Light of Day [DVD]

Saw this the other night on it's cinema tour of the UK. Excellent new British film, incredible writing and direction from Oliver S Milburn. Can't wait to see it again...if you're a fan of the horror/revenge genre or you're after vampires with an original twist, this film will not disappoint.

This film is a great British Indie feature by first time writer/director Oliver S.Milburn.

This guy obviously loves his horror films, and it shows in the structure and delivery of the story.

Over the last few years we seem to have been inundated with camped up vampire films, but for a change, this is a properly seedy, and dirty streetwise film about hurt, loss & revenge, it just happens to have vampire qualities/traits in it, but the more basic 'meaning' of vampire...not the long toothed, neck biting pretty boys of late! Think more '30 Days of Night' than 'Twilight', and the films early scenes of the brutal home invasion storyline keeps the truth of the real world enough to make the vampirism element acceptable.

So I wouldn't say it's a typical film of that genre by any means....and it's really nice to have this change.

The story is great, and really keeps the viewer invested in the characters throughout. The whole cast is brilliant, no week spots to mention, and the story, considering it's vampire content, is really grounded in the reality of human life today, so it makes it very believable.

A superb watch, and I am really looking forward to getting hold of the DVD after it's cinema release last week in California.(Which is where it got it's 'Staw Dogs With Fangs' critique from the film press at the premiere)

I'm extremely glad there are still young & ambitious British film makers out there churning out this kind of quality film...thanks Harsh Light Of Day...I will be following the cast & crew careers with a watchful anticipation of future projects.

I was lucky enough to see The Harsh Light of Day at its UK Premiere at Cineworld Haymarket, London, followed by a Q&A with director Oliver Milburn, producer Emma Biggins, and lead cast Dan Richardson & Giles Alderson.
I have to say what this team has achieved on what was a ridiculously small budget (to quote Oliver Milburn, "This film cost less than 2 seconds of The Avengers") is incredible! The writing is very strong and sets out a very solid base to build on, brilliantly embodied by the cats members. Both Richardson & Alderson come up with very strong performances, leading a convincing supporting cast as well (Paul Jacques & Tim Henley in particular). Alderson's character, Infurnari, is presented as a very intriguing view of what his world -of modern day vampires- might be like, even though all is done in a very subtle and "less is more" way. Think tip of the iceberg rather than full on hollywoodized vampires. The word vampire itself is never even mentioned. The final scene between both leads is a wonderful curiosity opening moment, which can, as has been expressed by several already, spark envies of an Infurnari oriented sequel (or prequel).
Even though some of the technical limitations due to budget restraints show at times, this is quickly forgotten as the story unfolds and the performances draw you in more and more. Milburn's subtle style of selectively showing what he wants you to see also helps and is a clever way of delivering the story. Some of the handheld camcorder pov sequences tie in extremely well with the rest of the story and add an excellent component of real-time horror/paranoia/survival, at times even sparking images of 1st person shooter video games.

This is a very good British indie horror, one to be remarked in a world of endless vampire & horror B-movies, and cannot help but make you wonder what will come next from those very talented filmmakers, when higher budget levels become available to them. Certainly one to watch out for. Congratulations!