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AT DAWN THEY SLEEP
Written and Directed by Brian Paulin
Edited and Photographed by Brian Paulin and Eli ConnorsStephen - Brian Paulin
Ian - Rich George
Rob - Rob Cupertino
Loads of cute, young girlsDo you think of Angels as being sexual beings? What about green-eyed monsters, jealous of the human race? Forget what you learned in Catechism class, in Brian Paulin's AT DAWN THEY SLEEP, God's messengers are little more than spiteful creatures bent on converting mankind into supernatural lambs ready to be sacrificed in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. It's refreshing to see a movie that's not afraid to question the conventions built around its subject matter.
Stephen and Ian are two low-level, suburban hoods who think they have what it takes to direct their city's drug traffic. After months of planning and scheming, the two are finally able to set their eyes on the big score. Unlike most crime thrillers I've screened recently, ADTS isn't concerned with the crimes themselves, so much as it is with the moral structure of those that commit the acts. The crimes are mere catalysts to examine morality as dictated by Christianity.
After their drug deal is complete, Stephen and Ian celebrate with the two girls who are new in town. Seeking a night of heavenly bliss, the two men instead find themselves the prey of two seraphs in need of cold bodies to do their dirty work. The women are divine warriors with stories of an uncaring God who favors his "monkeys" over his heralds. Like Homer to the Sirens, Stephen and Ian are drawn in and enticed by the possibilities.
From here the movie becomes a downward spiral into hell. The crimes become more severe and the consequences more meaningless. The first time a murder enters into the equation it stems out of necessity and ambition. Everything is simply business as usual. The killing itself serves to set of the moral framework for what follows. As Stephen and Ian fall farther downward, they murder for biblical reasons with motivations often stemming from envy, greed and lust. All killings committed in the name the Lord. Divine retribution for the twilight zone crowd.
Paulin must have had a hard day at confession when he came up with the idea for this one. His film takes Christian moral values and places them in situations where context decides the severity. Is taking a life wrong if it's done in the name of God? What about the Old Testament belief in an eye for an eye? The Jews and the Muslims have been fighting these points for hundreds of years. Maybe we can ask them.
Last year I reviewed a film by Wayne Allan Harold called TOWNIES. People that liked that movie should also find this one interesting. These two pictures have a great deal in common, both covering the same ground and asking the same questions. Neither filmmaker pretends to have any answers. The lines of right and wrong are left ambiguous. Only we can find our own moral foundations. In the end, who are we to judge anyone other than ourselves?
I can list numerous reason why you should give AT DAWN THEY SLEEP a chance, slick action, great photography, incredible effects, and strong acting. But those are all superficial. AT DAWN THEY SLEEP is an intelligent film with a great deal of insight. It just so happens to be masquerading as erotic horror. Do yourself a favor and check out this movie.