Dead by Daylight (1999 film)

Dead by Daylight is a 1999 psychological horror film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and released by Universal Pictures. The film follows a group of New York teenagers who find out that a mysterious killer is hunting them. As a result, the killer, codenamed Harley, finds ways to intervene, and demands that the group be "dead by daylight", hence the film's title.

Dead by Daylight was released by Universal Pictures on September 24th, 1999, grossing $102 million USD at the worldwide box office. The film received widespread acclaim from critics, praising the film's plot, death sequences, Spielberg's direction and musical composition provided by Hans Zimmer.

Plot
In the summer of 1898, detective Thomas Lawson is found dead by his two siblings, brother Herman and sister Tina. The two later find a note on the ground, reading:

''Harley killed me. He really did. I love you, Herman. I love you, Tina. Goodbye. Love, Thomas.''

After crumbling the note, Herman and Tina are chased by a man with a demonic voice. The children are later killed, and their funeral takes place during the opening credits of the film.

One hundred years after the incident, in 1998, a new group of New York teenagers, consisting of twins Cassandra and Benjamin Robinson, Japanese musician Shojin Tatsumi, narcissist Johnny Harper, and journalists Michael Herd and Jane Greene, visit the mansion of the Lawson family. There, they find an old artifact owned by Thomas Lawson –– a chainsaw figurine.

Later that night, In the backyard of the mansion, the group finds a gravestone reading:

HERE LIES THOMAS LAWSON.

Victims

 * Ainsley O'Harra as Benjamin Robinson
 * Brianna Cera as Cassandra Robinson
 * Ichiho Aragaki as Shojin Tatsumi
 * Anat Leko as Johnny Harper
 * Hunter Jacqueline as Michael Herd
 * Layla Warren as Jane Greene

Lawson family

 * Edwin Foley as Thomas Lawson (only appears in flashbacks)
 * Adonis Scott Junes as Herman Lawson (only appears in opening scene)
 * Violet Scott Junes as Tina Lawson (only appears in opening scene)
 * Harry Graham as Harley Lawson AKA The Killer

Soundtrack
An accompanying soundtrack for the film, called Dead by Daylight: Songs Inspired by the Movie, was released through DreamWorks Records on September 21st, 1999. The album features fifteen songs inspired from the Dead by Daylight film.

Home media
Dead by Daylight was originally released on VHS and DVD on April 11th, 2000, with the music video for "Fright Night", a song performed by former Beatles member Paul McCartney, included as a bonus feature, along with an accompanying behind-the-scenes featurette.

An extended cut of the film was released exclusively to DVD five months after, on September 19th, 2000. A two-disc edition, the first disc included the original cut of Dead by Daylight, the aforementioned "Fright Night" music video, and the behind-the-scenes featurette of the video.

The second disc included an extended cut of the film (which featured every deleted scene put in), a half-hour documentary on the making of the film, an extended theatrical trailer which had not been seen in theaters, and the option to view only the death sequences of the film, nicknamed It's Kill Time!.

The extended cut was later released to VHS on February 13th, 2001, with only the extended theatrical trailer and the documentary (albeit only the first fifteen minutes) being included as bonus features.

Sequels
Director and writer Steven Spielberg initially did not want sequels to Dead by Daylight in an interview with Time in March 2000. However, two years later, a theatrical sequel was released, titled Dead by Daylight II, garnering a mixed-to-negative response from film critics, mainly due to Spielberg not being involved.

Two additional direct-to-video sequels were respectively released in 2005 and 2008, titled Dead by Daylight III: Bloodlines, and Dead by Daylight IV: The Day of Death, gaining negative responses from critics.