Daylight's End (2016)

Dir: William Kaufman

You know Rourke (Johnny Strong GET CARTER remake) is a bad-ass as soon as you lay eyes on him.He rocks the manly stubble on his face, speaks only when it is necessary, carries a full auto M-14 and drives a beat up armoured Plymouth muscle car. Rourke is a survivor haunted by the death of this wife. A survivor in a world over run with vampires. Or are they vampires / zombies? No matter, the world has gone to shit and Rourke cruises what remains of it hunting and killing the creatures of the night.

One day he witnesses an ambush of a group by marauders. It's easy enough to pick out which group are the good guys; they drive a police car and stop to check on a woman cradling a baby in the middle of the street. The bad guys are just as easy to spot, they look menacing and are the ones about to rape the sole survivor of the ambushed group. Luckily for the young woman Sam (Chelsea Edmundson ISOLATION), Rourke finally jumps into the fray and caps the bad guys. As a way of saying thanks and asking for a ride home, Sam offers fuel and ammo once they make it back to her compound in Dallas.

A Mopar never dies

The compound is a former jail turned fortress run by the no-nonsense Frank Hill (played by the great Lance Henriksen). The survivors make the cells their home and by using the jail's technology such as security cameras and heavy doors they are able to survive the nightly attacks. Only the attacks lately have increased in ferocity with some of the creatures finding a way in. It's almost as if the creatures have gained purpose. Sam relates to the group that she found a cargo plane in good working order that can take everyone to a spot in Baha, 150 miles away from everything. Unfortunately an Alpha (ex-MMA fighter Krzysztof Soszynski) creature was spotted leading an attack on the compound and it is determined to get at the sweet, sweet human flesh hiding behind concrete and steel. Can our group of plucky heroes survive the night?

Writer Chad Law (THE HIT LIST) and director William Kaufman make the most of a small budget. Much of the film looks to have been shot on location and the jail really adds to the grittiness and despair. The plane, which is to take the survivors to the promised land, is only seen in a photograph. Yes, that low of a budget. But the scenes that take place on the streets of the big city look like I'd expect post the collapse of society so it is a job well done by production design. The budget is on the screen as they say and apparent in the multitude of action scenes.

The creatures, one bite from them brings on an infection which turns the victim in a short time, are a bit different from the usual vampire or fast moving virus zombie. They only come out at night as the sun will burn them to a crisp, and possess superhuman strength like a vampire but they can be killed by run of the mill bullets.

The film doesn't bother to go into detail if the creatures need to drink blood or are repulsed by garlic or a cross. It doesn't even bother with an explanation of how the apocalypse kicked off.

Lead Johnny Strong is a bit wooden trying his best to look stoic but he certainly looks the part of someone able to face vampires in a dystopian society. Lance Henriksen isn't given much to do but he's a plus to every film he appears in. Hakeem Kae-Kazim from television's BLACK SAILS has a small role.

DAYLIGHT'S END is a decent choice for those looking for mindless action.

**1/2 out of ****