Unfortunately as a fan of the zombie subgenre I frequently find myself disappointed in the films that flood the shelf at the video store, so I'm pretty excited when I see one that I really enjoy. Deadlands would fall into the enjoyable category and I was extremely refreshed by that.
It's a film about a group of people living in a Maryland town that happen to be in the midst of a "terrorist attack", which turns out being a zombie outbreak. There's one thing that was totally evident to me while watching this and it's that director Gary Ugarek has been influenced like many filmmakers by zombie master George A. Romero (Ugarek actually appeared in Romero's film Land of the Dead as a zombie, so I guess you can say he probably learned a lot from just being there). Now, sometimes that's a bad thing, but not in this case. Ugarek seems to understand what makes Romero's films so special and in turn used that to his advantage during this film.
In many ways Deadlands isn't a zombie movie as much as it is a movie about the people going though the outbreak. Much like the work of Romero, I get a feel that Ugarek knows exactly what he expects out of his actors and knows just how to get it. Plus, Ugarek is one of the lead roles of the film and he actually does a really good job being belivable in that role. The rest of the cast of the film is the same way and it's acted out pretty well for a film made for under $20,000. It's amazing what is pulled off in this film with a small budget such as, blocked highways, police cars, and some really good locations. The zombie effects and makeup are better than average and the gore factor is also good. The film isn't overly gory, but it's clear that Ugarek didn't want to accidentally up the gore and take the film over the top. I saw Deadlands as a film that is a pretty accurate portrayal of what the United States can turn into 8 years after the tragic events of September 11th 2001. It's set in 2009 and there seems to be this idea in the film that the government still wouldn't know how to handle a major situation, which is the exact sentiments of many of the citizens in this country today. There were a lot of things about this movie that not only did I find entertaining, but I also thought were really intelligent. The useage of guns by the main characters is explained at the beginning by showing them as people who would know and understand firearms.
I know that may not seem like a big deal, but to someone like this zombie fan it means a great deal. There's not too many things in zombie flicks that annoy me more than people that turn from your average citizen to a Navy Seal at the drop of a hat. Another thing that I really enjoyed about the film was the entire cast of actors and how they seemed to be "regular people" instead of the uber beauty that is shoved down our throats in the usual Hollywood film these days.
In a zombie film I find that to be extremely important and it certained helped Deadlands get a more realistic feel along with an incredibly realistic script. The camerawork and technical aspects of the film were also a lot better than the majority of indie films made these days too. Inventive camera shots, great chaos sequences only solidify the knowledge of the crew on this as well.
Thomas Fant was the DP and camera operator on the film and certainly understood the directors vision of the film. I can't say how often that DOESN'T happen in these type of films and added a freshness to the entire film. Overall, Deadlands:The Rising is the antithesis of the zombie subgenre, that not only holds some political undertones but is also a really solid zombie flick.
It's highly recommended for not only fans of zombie and horror flicks, but it's something I think a lot of independent filmmakers could benefit from watching.
http://www.bloodtypeonline.com/d.htm
|
"
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by DjfunkmasterG
Bookmarks