ScreamFest 2025: ‘Dead by Dawn’ will make you yawn

A stage theatre makes the perfect location for a horror movie. From The Phantom of the Opera (1925) to Theatre of Blood (1973) and Stage Fright (2014), a murderous rampage set in a live performance space mines rich thematic material—the desperation for fame, the razor-sharp competitive edge, and the driving parallels between fiction and reality. Writer/director Dawid Torrone hits upon these ideas with his feature film debut, Dead by Dawn. As the love child of StageFright (1987) and Opera (1987), it’s neither as compelling as those classics nor inventive enough to stand on its own. It’s a love letter to theatrical slashers without the love beyond cheap imitation.

When a troupe of actors arrives at the mysterious Heissenhoff Theatre, they immediately launch into the rehearsal of a brand new play. Rumors swirl that the location, owned by the Heissenhoff Family, has occult ties dating back decades. But that doesn’t scare them away from staying. The director digs his heels in even more to get the most out of his cast. Featuring intense and evocative dance and movement pieces, the show proves physically (and emotionally) demanding for the lead, whose body soon succumbs to the ritualistic slant to the production. Cinematic touchstones such as Suspiria (2018) and The Evil Dead (1981) serve as additional influences on a story that feels too beholden as a tribute piece than something wholly original.

As rehearsal intensifies, a masked killer (Bartlomiej Topa) stalks and slaughters the cast. Torrone scatters a collection of solid, if not particularly memorable, kills throughout the film that lack real impact. A blend of haunted house, occult practices, and a silly masked killer bog down a story that wasn’t particularly unique to begin with. The killer’s mask, a bulbous head riddled with bulging eyes, doesn’t capture fear or camp. And the same can be said about the killer’s long-winded monologue, in which they spout how we, as a culture, have abandoned nature for fake personas. There are not enough thematic threads woven into the story for the big reveal to have any conceivable meaning (the motive honestly fits far better with influencer horror).

When Dead by Dawn lurches into its third act, there is a climactic moment ripped straight out of Opera (you’ll know it when you see it—pun intended) that feels far less like an homage than a copy. But here, it’s hollow and lacks the tension found in the Dario Argento film. The underlying StageFright vibe fails to generate a level of campy goodness that the Michele Soavi cut celebrates, from the over-the-top kills to the killer’s owl mask. It’s an unfortunate elixir that’s too concerned with the past than forging an exciting path forward.

While the look of Dead by Dawn is polished and visually appealing, none of the other parts fit together. Surface-level characters offer little for the actors to sink their teeth into, and the lack of deaths with consequence results in a corpse of dreadful pacing and a mediocre finale. It’s an unfortunate debut that’s nothing short of a strikeout.