TOTAL FILM (4 out of 5 stars) ‘..this striking low budget horror-drama features first time filmmakers playing smartly to their strengths…it’s an intimate tale of a couple on a make-or-break country getaway unaware of the apocalypse unfurling around them…what emerges is a surprisingly poignant study of a marriage in meltdown as the world mutely follows suit.. ‘ RADIO TIMES (4 out of 5 stars) ‘..this surprisingly effective blend of zombie horror and relationship drama (think George A Romero meets Mike Leigh)..it’s primarily an intimate portrait of a couple trying to rekindle their love, though there’s a constant sense of foreboding and several clues that all is not well beyond their cottage..it makes for a genuinely unnerving, shocking and ultimately poignant experience..’

HORROR CHANNEL (5 out of 5 stars) ‘ There are many husband and wife teams out there in the entertainment industry, but few have delivered such a stunning feature movie debut as Dominic Brunt and Joanne Mitchell.. Before Dawn is an emotional and brutal horror movie that crosses genres..taking the shambling zombie into dramatic territory..’

STARBURST(9 out of 10) ‘….this is a stunningly assured piece of work characterised by a smart script, compellingly naturalistic performances from the two leads…Before Dawn is a film about people and relationships as much as it is about zombies…there’s enough genuine human interest to guarantee that the time invested in these characters pays dividends in the final shattering few minutes….Haunting and yet beautiful, Before Dawn, is a little modern masterpiece and possibly the most exciting British genre movie in a decade or more. Essential viewing.’

SciFiNow (4 out of 5 stars) ‘ ..Before Dawn confounds expectations, however, as for the first 30 minutes you don’t see a sniff of the undead. Instead, the human element is called upon to provide the tension between Alex (Brunt) and his wife Meg (Mitchell) retreat to an isolated Yorkshire cottage to rebuild their struggling marriage…an exhausting and invasive mixture of human drama and end times futility…it feels as shocking an escalation as that first torrent of gore in The Shining.’

FILM JUICE ‘…brilliantly acted, showing the couples flaws and their weaknesses..this is what sets it apart from so many of its ilk, the characters are well-drawn and believable, lending more weight to the nightmare closing in around them…it’s a fresh, thoughtful and intelligent addition to the genre that richly deserves to find itself an audience…’

THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS (5 out of 5 stars) ‘…the script and acting from the central duo is natural and superb…and there is a real depth in character development in the early stages to suggest there is some complexity gnawing away at their love for one another..it feels like a Shane Meadows or Mike Leigh horror film..it’s gripping stuff and easily identifiable, which makes for compulsive viewing…Before Dawn really is an uncomfortable watch and one that will stay with you well after the closing credits..I have to concede to being totally blown away by the most gutwrenching modern zombie flick in years…an unforgettable and jaw-dropping shocker!’

SKY MOVIES ‘… Expertly shot and boasting snatches of dialogue that could have come from Mike Leigh, this is a refreshing spin on a genre hamstrung by formula.’

EMPIRE (3 out of 5 stars) ‘…striking imagery, decent grue and an ending that lingers.’

THE YORKSHIRE POST ‘….combining the nervous energy of a classic zombie flick – think Night of The Living Dead transplanted to Hebden Bridge – with a Ken Loach portrait of a crumbling marriage, this is a bold and frequently bloody attempt to give the genre a twist….Before Dawn is powerfully original…’

BIZARRE MAGAZINE ‘…Once the scene’s set, Brunt let’s rip with a relentless succession of blood-drenched, vicious set pieces captured on fast moving cameras and accompanied by a pulsepounding score-right through to the smack in the face finale..but for all it’s expected nastiness it’s the pathos and the vulnerability that Brunt and Joanne Mitchell inject into the proceedings that elevates Before Dawn above most living dead movies….Brunt illustrates that he’s got the smarts to carve out a full-blown career as one of the fright flick industry’s finest directors.’