Horrortalk.com Reviews Deadlands 2

[DjfunkmasterG]

Not a superbad review, but not great either. They liked Deadlands 1 better.

http://www.horrortalk.com/reviews/DeadlandsTrapped/Deadlands2.html

[MinionZombie]

2/5?! pfft - not likely.

I'd give it a 3.5 or 4 out of 5 - especially on the 'indie scale' of reviewing (a 4/5 I'd say once I've seen the final cut).

Also - Yawn came out in 2004 - how does a horror reviewer not know that? :p

Deadlands 2 definitely beats Deadlands 1 in all respects, says I.

[kchertu]

Not a TERRIBLE review, but I agree with MZ that Trapped is much better than The Rising and is most definitely a step forward for you Gary!

One thing that I'm curious about... maybe it's just me paying attention because it's my daughter, but I don't think so... I feel one thing that's different about Trapped is the use of the little girl in the flick and the things that happens to her and in particular what I think is the most chilling moment, the hallway scene with her and the stuffed animal. Yet, I haven't read one single review that mentions that scene or anything about the little girl at all. Wonder why?

Plus this guy mentioned everyone by name but she and I... why no love for the Davidson family??? haha Guess not getting mentioned is better than a flame though, huh?

Looking forward to seeing the next cut!

[AcesandEights]

It read as though the reviewer certainly has a lot of respect for your abilities and potential, DJ!

[DjfunkmasterG]

2/5?! pfft - not likely.

I'd give it a 3.5 or 4 out of 5 - especially on the 'indie scale' of reviewing (a 4/5 I'd say once I've seen the final cut).

Also - Yawn came out in 2004 - how does a horror reviewer not know that? :p

Deadlands 2 definitely beats Deadlands 1 in all respects, says I.


Not a TERRIBLE review, but I agree with MZ that Trapped is much better than The Rising and is most definitely a step forward for you Gary!

One thing that I'm curious about... maybe it's just me paying attention because it's my daughter, but I don't think so... I feel one thing that's different about Trapped is the use of the little girl in the flick and the things that happens to her and in particular what I think is the most chilling moment, the hallway scene with her and the stuffed animal. Yet, I haven't read one single review that mentions that scene or anything about the little girl at all. Wonder why?

Plus this guy mentioned everyone by name but she and I... why no love for the Davidson family??? haha Guess not getting mentioned is better than a flame though, huh?

Looking forward to seeing the next cut!


Almost done with the new cut, so soon, very soon.

In regards to the review, I have to agree with them on a majority of it. They like the technical aspects, they mention them quite a bit, but in terms of acting, Deadlands 2 does fall a bit flat. The acting is better than Deadlands 1, but still for a second outting it should have been better, but there are a lot of factors.

1. I am not comfortable pushing actors who are not getting paid, because all it takes is one comment for them to say FUCK THIS, I am out of here. Why should they have to listen to someone not paying them, I mean it is in their professional interest to do so, but it is also in my best interest to make sure they do it, and in trying to maintain the balance of finishing the movie and getting it done, Things I normally would have bitched about I bit my tongue on... MISTAKE #1

2. We shot the film on weekends, what was supposed to be a 3 weekend project turned into a 13 month project, but we did go from being a short to a feature, so that does change a lot, but it hurts when you have to shoot for two days, then for 5 days you have to wait to get back into it. Not too mention they time off for winter hiatus, holiday breaks, Ashley's injury. I should have been sending you guys dailies of your work, to keep consistency going, but did not. Instead I hoped that the momentum would carry over.

3. I had 3 goals when i set out to make this movie.

A. The film had to be technically Better Than the first
B. The Budget had to be lower, but the scale larger
C. No casting of Friends. Everyone cast had to be comfortable being in front of a camera.


4. I am not discouraged by the review in any way, shape or form. It does point out some great things, they mention I have potential, I am just not focussing on the right things. So I have to learn from my mistakes.

5. Believe me when I say this, I in no way would ever trade those 13 months for anything. I had so much fun making this movie, working with you, Ashley, Corrine, everyone. I still think we made a good movie, it has flaws, albeit budget related or not, it is something to still be proud of, and at the same time strive for something better on the next outting.

[capncnut]

Deadlands 2: Trapped, the sequel to The Rising, suffers somewhat from the same issues as the first. It, too, wants to be bigger than it is and is also restricted by its budget, but I can't give Ugarek a pass this time. I applaud him for wanting to put storytelling and character development at the forefront, because he should do that, but I'm afraid he can't see the trees for the forest. It seems Ugarek is so focused on the big picture, he's neglecting some of the finer details.
Cheeky c**t!

[DjfunkmasterG]

Not a TERRIBLE review, but I agree with MZ that Trapped is much better than The Rising and is most definitely a step forward for you Gary!

One thing that I'm curious about... maybe it's just me paying attention because it's my daughter, but I don't think so... I feel one thing that's different about Trapped is the use of the little girl in the flick and the things that happens to her and in particular what I think is the most chilling moment, the hallway scene with her and the stuffed animal. Yet, I haven't read one single review that mentions that scene or anything about the little girl at all. Wonder why?

Plus this guy mentioned everyone by name but she and I... why no love for the Davidson family??? haha Guess not getting mentioned is better than a flame though, huh?

Looking forward to seeing the next cut!


Josh, I still love you guys. :D

While the reviewers may not be recognizing Alexa for her trun as the eerie little girl in the hall, keep this in mind, remember the applause she received at the Westminster screening on Halloween night?

I think some of the issues with Deadlands 2 overshadow what a great job she did, and plus keep in mind, Deadlands 2 is not your average $6000 zombie film. Although flawed we turned in a film so large in scale on such a small amount of money that it gets so many comments about the scale alone.

The scale coupled with the fact she gets very little dialog is probably one of the reasons she is overlooked. However, the reviewer at HorrorTalk.com did quote her at the top of the article. :D

[MinionZombie]

Aye - the scale is one of the most impressive things about DL2, a mere $6k, and you get all of that PLUS Jim Krut. :cool:

There's a lot of big themes in the film that can also pull a reviewer into different directions, or it's just simply a case of enjoying the sheer value for money on screen - a case of actually getting something beyond your means that works - all too often you see indie projects with naff all cash, and they try and make an epic and it just looks awful, but here this is one of the rare times that the scale is both beyond the budget, and has turned out nicely.

Plus it's also the progress since DL1 that's another big thing for reviewers to comment on as well I think.

[Kaos]

Looking forward to buying this one. :)

[kchertu]

Almost done with the new cut, so soon, very soon.

In regards to the review, I have to agree with them on a majority of it. They like the technical aspects, they mention them quite a bit, but in terms of acting, Deadlands 2 does fall a bit flat. The acting is better than Deadlands 1, but still for a second outting it should have been better, but there are a lot of factors.

1. I am not comfortable pushing actors who are not getting paid, because all it takes is one comment for them to say FUCK THIS, I am out of here. Why should they have to listen to someone not paying them, I mean it is in their professional interest to do so, but it is also in my best interest to make sure they do it, and in trying to maintain the balance of finishing the movie and getting it done, Things I normally would have bitched about I bit my tongue on... MISTAKE #1

2. We shot the film on weekends, what was supposed to be a 3 weekend project turned into a 13 month project, but we did go from being a short to a feature, so that does change a lot, but it hurts when you have to shoot for two days, then for 5 days you have to wait to get back into it. Not too mention they time off for winter hiatus, holiday breaks, Ashley's injury. I should have been sending you guys dailies of your work, to keep consistency going, but did not. Instead I hoped that the momentum would carry over.

3. I had 3 goals when i set out to make this movie.

A. The film had to be technically Better Than the first
B. The Budget had to be lower, but the scale larger
C. No casting of Friends. Everyone cast had to be comfortable being in front of a camera.


4. I am not discouraged by the review in any way, shape or form. It does point out some great things, they mention I have potential, I am just not focussing on the right things. So I have to learn from my mistakes.

5. Believe me when I say this, I in no way would ever trade those 13 months for anything. I had so much fun making this movie, working with you, Ashley, Corrine, everyone. I still think we made a good movie, it has flaws, albeit budget related or not, it is something to still be proud of, and at the same time strive for something better on the next outting.


Gary, speaking as an actor (and a director of actors), if you are working with an actor and you give them direction and they say "Fuck this", then fuck them, they shouldn't be 1. acting in the first place and 2. taking a free gig.

You should NEVER worry about giving an actor direction. That is your job to bring out the best in us and it is our job to give you what you want and give you our best performance. I can't see how I look, you can. I want you to give me direction, if I need to step it up, I want you to tell me that.

Maybe my girl and I just had a fight and I have my head up my ass... well pull me over to the side and tell me to get my head out of my ass because you can tell I'm not all there. I may be initially put off (although I doubt I would be) but I WILL thank you later.

If we are working for free, then we are obviously nobody important... we need you to showcase us as much as you need us to be in your movie. So, don't ever hold back on directing your actors to give you what you want. Holding back on directing your actors is not only a disservice to you, it's also a disservice to the audience as well as the actors.

The big things to avoid in general is not to say a line the way you want the actor to say it, that seems to be a pet peeve for a lot of actors and it takes away their connection. Instead tell them the feelings you want them to have, their purpose, their intentions behind the line, mold them, direct them where you want it to end up... if they still aren't getting it, then yeah you can resort to saying it how you'd like it to be said.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Gary, speaking as an actor (and a director of actors), if you are working with an actor and you give them direction and they say "Fuck this", then fuck them, they shouldn't be 1. acting in the first place and 2. taking a free gig.

You should NEVER worry about giving an actor direction. That is your job to bring out the best in us and it is our job to give you what you want and give you our best performance. I can't see how I look, you can. I want you to give me direction, if I need to step it up, I want you to tell me that.

Maybe my girl and I just had a fight and I have my head up my ass... well pull me over to the side and tell me to get my head out of my ass because you can tell I'm not all there. I may be initially put off (although I doubt I would be) but I WILL thank you later.

If we are working for free, then we are obviously nobody important... we need you to showcase us as much as you need us to be in your movie. So, don't ever hold back on directing your actors to give you what you want. Holding back on directing your actors is not only a disservice to you, it's also a disservice to the audience as well as the actors.

The big things to avoid in general is not to say a line the way you want the actor to say it, that seems to be a pet peeve for a lot of actors and it takes away their connection. Instead tell them the feelings you want them to have, their purpose, their intentions behind the line, mold them, direct them where you want it to end up... if they still aren't getting it, then yeah you can resort to saying it how you'd like it to be said.

Oh I hear ya man... but again, you do have to walk a fine line, however, in the future I will be a bit more agressive about this, and will make sure if anyone is doing freebie work they are aware what I am expecting from the get go.


Anyone interested, there is another convo going on about the review at HT.com forums: http://www.horrortalk.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=300&p=3283#p3283

They are very cool people and love to talk horror, don't be afriad to join in on it.

[AcesandEights]

Anyone interested, there is another convo going on about the review at HT.com forums: http://www.horrortalk.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=300&p=3283#p3283

They are very cool people and love to talk horror, don't be afriad to join in on it.

Yeah, that was a pretty cool read. Nice to see thoughtful dialog between reviewer and reviewee, expanding on matters brought up in the review. Too often things get sour when that sort of stuff happens and it's always nice to see when it doesn't.

[DjfunkmasterG]

They are cool people, they tell like it is, with specifics, and point the good and the bad, it is better than the reviews from some sites that say, oh this film SUCKED BALLS, etc etc.