Pray For Dawn
DIRECTED BY : Lawrence Lim
WRITTEN BY: Peter Cameron - Home Kills (2023), The Greatest Showman (2017) & Stephen Batchelor
PRODUCED BY: Trish Ostigh - The Redemption (2023), The Rover (2014), Home Kills (2023)
About the Film
When a quiet, suburban town is overrun by an unknown evil lusting for blood, an ex-police officer is forced to recruit an unlikely group of residents to protect their town from the bloodthirsty creatures.
Synopsis
After a horrific crime shatters his family, police officer John Brookman becomes consumed by the unanswered questions surrounding that night. Branded unstable and pushed out of the force, John spirals into isolation as a series of brutal deaths begin to plague his town.
When the killings point to something far beyond human explanation, John is pulled back into an investigation. Joined by a relentless reporter, a troubled priest, and several unlikely allies, he is drawn into a hidden world operating in the shadows, one that feeds on blood.
As the line between obsession and truth begins to blur, John is forced toward a reckoning that will challenge everything he believes.
Cast
John Jarratt - Wolf Creek (2005), Wolf Creek 2 (2013), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), What About Sal (2023) - Walter
Lauren Grimson - Beast of War (2025), The Possessed (2021), The Room Below (2025), All Her Fault (2025) - Jamie
Goran D. Kleut - Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), Alient: Covenant (2017), Pirates of the Carabbean: Dead Man Tells No Tales (2017) - Stitch
Ian Roberts - Superman Returns (2006), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), The Osiris Child (2016), Fantasy Island (2020) - Eddie
Thibul Nettle - The Shadow of Trust (2026), Kangaroo Island (2024) - Captain
Tatjana Marjanovic - Monsters of Men (2020), Great White (2021), Shelter in Place (2021) - Laura
Director’s Statement
When I started writing Pray for Dawn, I wanted to create a story that would bring larger than life characters into the heart and soul of my audience. I imagined how I could take the audience to a new world, a world that scared them to their core. Inspired by such horror movies as, Let the Right One In, It Follows, Shaun Of The Dead and Scream, I set out to make this happen. From the beginning darkness hovers throughout, setting the tonal image of bleakness and violence to come. Each scene depicts parts of a puzzle of carnage and despair with all neatly coming together as the climax approaches.
The term Pray for Dawn generally heralds a feeling of anticipation for the beginning of a new day; however, in this instance the words will generate an emotional response of extreme anxiety within the hearts of all the characters. For the coming of Dawn will signal either the beginning or the end of life as they know it. I always envisioned that the film would take place in a small country town. Having grown up in and around Tamworth, Australia, I immediately started to imagine how the wide streets and historic buildings could play an integral part in bringing my story to life. From the awe-inspiring sunsets to the unique sunrises, Tamworth provides the perfect setting for Pray for Dawn and with an eerily haunting soundtrack; it will create situations that will send chills up the spine.
The shadowy figures don’t just dance in the darkness – for as stark silhouettes they glide past the dim streetlights leaving a trail of destruction and bloodless bodies – shimmering and pale – dead in the moonless night. In the final moments the visual contrast becomes apparent as the growing brightness of the rising Dawn generates hope and confidence that all is well – but is it? Having worked as a film projectionist for many years, I became aware of what movies people gravitate towards and what creates powerful viewing and what I learned is that people love to be scared!
Film Details
Running Time : TBA
Country of Origin : Australia
Classification : To be classified
Genre : Horror
Gallery
