A moody, atmospheric tale of retribution stained with blood and grief, Sunrise is a tense horror thriller overflowing with drama. Brought to you from Lionsgate, the same studio that gave us last year’s creepy crawling feature Cobweb, comes a distinctive, entertaining and sometimes ruthless take on vampires. Sunrise delivers action and tragedy in even doses for this distinctive take on bloodsuckers and their potential origins. Stylish and beautifully directed by Andrew Baird with top notch writing from Ronan Blaney, this is a misty tale of justice and revenge as well as a renewed look at vampirism as not just a disease or a curse, but a staple that’s long infested our world in demonic forms. An eerie opener tells us of a demon living deep in interconnected forests, slaked by animal sacrifices with the power to give eternal life at the cost of eternal blood consumption. This entity was deemed “The Red Coat” and seems to be our first hints at vampirism, as we scan through lush green woods to find a red cloaked being feasting on a dead animal.
From the forest we pan to a meeting: its leader, Mr. Reynolds (Guy Pearce), is talking somewhat to himself about how the great mixing pot was a mistake and people need to mind their own, and keep with their own. He says this across from a young Asian man, lobbing racial slurs to drive the point home as he insists the man sign over his home or face the consequences. When the man declines and walks away, Reynolds is driven to rage, striking the man with a bottle and stabbing him for good measure; this demagogue is no one to trifle with.
Meanwhile, on a bus, the deceased man’s son Edward (William Gao) is exchanging flirtatious glances with a passenger, but when he exits, he’s brutally assaulted by another passenger; another face telling him to stay in his place. At home it is a solemn affair, as the family mourns the loss of their husband and father, creating distance between Edward and his mother and sister. Panning back to the verdant woods we find a man hobbling and injured, dazed by the endless branches and shuffling away from what sounds like a creature in pursuit, and he’s not the only one being targeted. Back at the house, Yan Loi (Crystal Yu) has gone in after a smoke, unaware she’s being watched.
Two thugs sent by Reynolds appear with a Molotov cocktail in hand which they shatter, alerting the family – who emerge armed, searching for trespassers. Edward locates and incapacitates a man he finds hiding and the pair bring him into the house, vowing to patch him up then evict him once he’s healthy. After medicine and water, the stranger, Fallon (Alex Pettyfer), begins to stir as Yan and her daughter leave the house without Edward. Curiously, he unlocks the door to the man’s room to find his bed empty, the stranger huddled in a dark corner begging for blood. It seems they’ve taken in no ordinary refugee, and despite the danger in the man’s bloodthirsty nature, he isn’t there to harm but to help with the landslide of problems facing the family due to the Reynolds clan.
The film immediately reveals one of the systemic problems facing the family: good old-fashioned racism, alive and well. They are called every slur in the book and are generally unwanted in the town, showing that perhaps in some areas of the world segregation is still a viable idea. This political and emotional pot is at a boil here as Yan and Reynolds vie for control, and not one cast member doesn’t show up to play. Guy Pearce is a force. He’s hateful from his first moments and his degenerate character only continues to degrade as the plot unfolds. He is a cold, ruthless player who is pitted against the formidable Yan and her family, and the stoic yet menacing presence of Pettyfer. Gao and Yu are phenomenal as well, facing every insult and loss with dignity and pursuing their future with ferocity. In spite of having every reason not to trust the community, they still take Fallon in and care for him, though no one cares for the Loi family. We can’t forget Pettyfer though. He is serious, solemnly drifting in and out of memory, shifting the film’s narrative back and forth in time. He’s resourceful in a fight or subdued and calculated in his quiet vengeful pursuit, acting as the perfect protector for the vulnerable family and the ideal match in savagery to take on the sinister demagogue.
Vampirism is loosely treated here: there are no initial bared fangs, outbursts, or wild hunting, and the shady origins of The Red Coat deepen the mystery. Fallon seems to be suddenly overcome by the urge to consume, and others speak of a vampire that feeds not only on blood, but also on pure fear. Animal and human blood is on the table for consumption, something that reminded me of one of my favorite vampiric shorts, Translyvanie, as Fallon guzzles chicken blood much like Ewa fed on rats or perhaps even the “vegetarian” vampires of Twilight that hunted game for sustenance. Cinematography is crisp, with plenty of intimate moments between characters, getting glimpses into the frantic mind of a starving vampire, while admiring the natural beauty from the woods to the rising moon. Treading the line between vengeance and a release, Fallon must make difficult choices while controlling his condition in order to exact his revenge while doubling as a savior.
The film has many layered themes culturally, politically and socially that are exposed rather well, seeing as they are set in a vampire film, illuminating the malignance of xenophobia. A mystical trip into a bloody battle to belong, Sunrise is a well-acted, beautifully shot piece of horror that delivers both fresh and familiar bloody legends of vampirism.
Sunrise (2024) is available to stream now.