This is a short film where the title is the most optimistic part, because it gives the impression that the light of dawn could still happen, regardless of how distant it is. From what you see in the film, however, bleakness and pain is what’s waiting for these small town denizens. Dawn? Only in that the short started at life’s midnight.
Shot in black and white and opening with a gruesome scene that sets a dark, nihilistic tone, Distant Dawn packs in quite a few ideas in its eleven minutes, and those watching the film will find different connections and interpretations to argue about. For me, it comes down to one thing: small towns can be boring, and boredom can lead to a lot of horribly f****d up things. This short backs that up with some cannibalism, murder, suicide, drugs… the fact it was shot in Maine just makes me think something is going on with that state. Then again, hasn’t Stephen King been screaming that for years?
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