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.

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.