NEW YORK: Fear and loathing, doom and gloom permeate nearly every minute of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," the beginning of the end of the behemoth boy-wizard series.

This seventh film in the franchise, directed once again by David Yates (who previously helmed parts five and six, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"), begins with nearly suffocating tension, as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself face-to-face with his destiny: being the target of the evil Lord Voldemort's deadly wrath. Friends and allies will have to band together to protect him; some of them won't make it out alive.