Deadlands 2: Trapped

(Trapped)

(The Escape)

DVD Release Company: Anthem Pictures (http://www.anthemdvd.com/
Language: English
Length: 85 Minutes
Image: Color
Year: 2008
Rated: Not Rated
Release Date: October 27, 2009

“Son, We are the U.S. Government. We’re the only God to have existed” – Jim Krut (Dr. Robert Mitchell)

MOVIE REVIEW

A definite contender amongst current indie zombie pictures. Deadlands 2: Trapped brings the utmost feeling of dread and loathing back from what has been long missed from the genre and was a long time overdue. Though powerful in dark tones and introducing a deep hate for the government bodies, this zombie outbreak film does have it’s weaknesses by over induces on bland dialogue, pointless scenes and the uses of film noir shadows; none of these issues can be easily ignored. Yet, there is hope for numerous scenes scattered with in the duration and that is enough to satisfy a true fan of a subgenre that some of us call home.

Dr. Richard Mitchell has malicious plans to unleash a bio-weapon virus in the small town of Hagerstown, Maryland as part of a government experiment. Without a second thought on the consequences, he carries on his set plan, turning the town folk into blood thirsty zombies. Five strangers are trapped inside a movie theater, surrounded by the flesh eating hordes outside trying to find any way in. The uninfected civilians have until 6:00 A.M. til the town is completely leveled with a nuclear device. With killer infected zombies on the outside and a threat of nowhere to hide from nuclear death, they must bond together to figure a way out of the theater – and a way out of town.

I’ve decided that I’m going to start with what I like about Deadlands 2: Trapped because I do have a large appreciation for the entire film. For the most part, it’s a decent entry into the large sub genre of zombie films but I had my issues with it which I’ll get to later. Much heart went into the project and that really stands out to me because no matter how difficult the project may be or how the end result came out, there are still qualities that can be established that displays an honesty or a loyalty for what you love. In some of these scenes, I witnessed that heart. For example, there is a scene where army and police personnel hold up at a blockade. They stare deep into the fog and then suddenly a fireman walks into the scene and the music starts to pulsate. The fireman is intent on his walk but then he turns toward the various armed officers and military men and quickly changes direction. Soon, there is a crowd following the fireman and then you learn that the fireman is not a fireman anymore, but an infected thing that once catches glimpse of you there is no stopping it from trying to tear our your insides. It reminded me of a scene from Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living Dead where Linnea Quigley’s character Trash walks up the homeless man and rips into his face. The scene captivates you and can be an intensifier, a thrilling suspense tactic that works to the film’s advantage. There are many scenes like this but I will not ruin the rest of the movie for you.

Trash the Fireman!

Now, the story itself is fairly simple: Five people are trapped inside a theater while zombies surround it. The plot doesn’t make you want to go out and buy it right away, does it? But, then again, sometimes you just want a zombie movie to be this simple. What desperate moves will these strangers take? Will the zombies break through the barriers? Who will escape or who will get eaten alive? Many questions still come out from that simple plot and are answered in the duration. Though, there were times when the scenes seemed the drag on and kind of made the plot extend to just that fairly simple plot notion. There were many scenes of the survivors just walking around with no dialogue and this could have been avoided with better editing. Deadlands 2 might have been 20 minutes shorter, but our attention spans for Deadlands 2 might be 20 minutes longer. You have to weigh the good with the bad in order to succeed fully.

I know director Gary Ugarek is going to hate me for saying this but he is Carpenter Jr. Before even watching the special features, I had multiple unspoken thoughts that the score sounded like something John Carpenter would produce. I’m sorry, Gary, but it is more of a compliment – in fact, it is 100% of a compliment. I dig the synthesizing sounds for they bring a certain evil tone to the films and it makes them more eerier, more suspenseful, and it brings out the sheer terror of what you’re viewing. It could have used less guitar, I’ll admit this. It makes some of the scenes come off too much like a music video, especially with all the fog and slow motion.

Many people will disagree with me on this but, frankly, I do not care. Running zombies are very intimidating. When there are hundreds of the undead sprinting as hard as they can toward you, I guarantee you you will piss your pants. That is just the way it will be if a zombie outbreak ever occurs. With the slow zombie, you can maneuver around them and take your time, but with a fast zombie, you better have that rule number one down made famous by Zombieland – excellent cardio fitness. But, hey, at least their not doing somersaults and back flips like in the remake of Day of the Dead…sigh. This reviewer has zero hate for the marathon running zombie.

You can’t outrun the Running Zombies!!!

As I said at the beginning of the review, this film brings back the dread and loathing have been long missed. I sincerely meant that. It is always nice to watch a film that you can’t take away any happiness from. It might seem depressing and you might first think that it was a bad film but what you misunderstand is that it is actually doing it’s job. It is doesn’t want you feel that warm soft center you have deep with in the pit of your stomach, it doesn’t want you to sleep safe and sound at night with no nightmares; it wants you to feel sick to your soul. That, my friends, calls for at least a watch of Deadlands 2: Trapped because you hardly obtain a feeling like that in a movie and, the majority of the time, only indie projects can deliver that.

Now, I’m going to touch on the what didn’t appeal to me. First off, the film is way, way, way too dark. I know that the objective here is to create an atmosphere of isolation and loneliness but when you get to the point to where you can’t tell what is going on in a scene because it is pitch black, it just isn’t entertaining for there isn’t anything to see to be entertained by! I understand the intention for the film noir-like shadows and, even, the absent of light but it is just way over done. I hope the effect was more because of a budget issue than a technical tactic one.

The setting of Hagerstown, Maryland I don’t have a problem with except I’ve been to Hagerstown, Maryland and it isn’t that isolated. It is slightly more populated, especially with it being a tri-state hub between Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania – all with in an hour of each other from Hagerstown. Also, don’t forget Baltimore which is less than an hour and half away. There are various routes and highways that can be said are heavy in commuter traffic. So, to have a major zombie outbreak and have it secretly contained in Hagerstown, Maryland is a bit more of a stretch for me. The fault here lies more on me rather than the film makers. I have been jaded by the fact that I’ve been to Hagerstown. If I never stepped foot into that city, I would have never brought up this complaint.

Hagerstown is a base of military sorts…maybe that is why those complete nude clubs are there in West Va

I have to say that the dialogue about killed me. The use of the word “fuck” was in almost every sentence. I should have counted how many times it was used and it would probably beat out Reservoir Dogs – whether that is a good thing or not is another question. For a movie to repeat that word in every other sentence in a movie, you would need A or even B-list actors to get away with it. For a few no-namers, it just doesn’t work and it isn’t because their delivery is skewed but we, the audience, are not familiar with these faces. For Harvy Keital to say “fuck” as many times as possible in one film, like Reservoir Dogs, it is less noticeable and doesn’t seem to strain you out on its over usage. When Joesph Durbin does it, you get tired of it and wish he would say something else, something more of value, or something that could help push the story forward.

This brings me to the characters. There isn’t much character background or buildup. We know Jack, played by Josh Davidson, is a bit of a low-life with his topless women fascination and is the brother of Shelly. We know Shelly (Corrine Brush) and Sean (Joseph Durbin) have a sort of thing together. We also know Casey (Ashley Young) and Chris (Chris Clark) have a thing together. All this information about the main characters is conveyed with in the first 20 minutes of the film and dropped the last 105 minutes. The characters didn’t grow but merely just meandered like they did in the theater. Jim Krut as Dr. Robert Mitchell on the other hand had the face of pure evil. The helicopter zombie from the original Dawn of the Dead played his hand as the evil government bio-lab head cheese and had executed his role very well even if his character’s intentions are unknown. There were times when his delivery was a bit bland but he successfully made me think he was an asshole to the fullest extent.

The overall review of Deadlands 2: Trapped ranks moderately low. The idea is there but the execution needs a bit of work. This is director Gary Ugarek’s second zombie film and while it isn’t a great film, it certainly could be better. Deadlands 2: Trapped is only related to Deadlands: The Rising by name only so this attempt at a second sub genre film is with a fresh idea and with a new cast. I’ll give him credit there in taking a new direction he takes his Deadland series. But, everything that hinders the film to give it a low ranking is explained above: the mise-en-scene being too dark for viewing pleasure, the extravagant use of the word “fuck” with no name actors and actresses, the cast was too set in stone with no room for character growth, there needed to be some editing work for faster pace and the fact that I’ve been to Hagerstown, Maryland. Even being the Best Zombie Film at the Fright Night Film Festival of 2009, I would have to caution any zombie loving individual from watching this film. Though enjoyable and a definite film to recommend, I would still leave room for caution as well as if it were for those of a particular taste.

DVD REVIEW

This is an Anthem Pictures Distribution release and I’m greatly happy to see that this film gets a nice widescreen, 2.35:1, format even if it is plagued by too much darkness. The audio had major issues. The dialogue was barely audible. The Dolby Digital 2.0 just doesn’t cut it anymore for anything. It creates an overshadowing effect on the dialogue from the ambiance and the score, muffling or, sometimes, killing the actors dialogue. There was about 20% of dialogue loss and that is a shame.

The extras sort of make up for the presentation. If you’ve ever wanted to learn about indie film making, I’d suggest these interviews with Gary Ugarek, composer Brian Wright, and the cast and crew. They give you all the woes and joys of making a film that is being produced on less than $7,000. It is a remarkable insight for any inspiring director. The Weapons and Tactics featurette takes you behind the scenes on how to make actors look like a professional soldier or officer. It is interesting material and good to know for, again, those inspiring film makers.

The overall DVD review for Deadlands 2: Trapped ranks moderately fair. There are plenty of fascinating interviews and featurettes to keep you busy for quite some time. The subtle animated menus are a nice touch as well. I really dug the intro to the film about the Betty Boop type character named Hellena who had a zombie infestation problem. As she was introducing the film , she reminded me much of Elvira but with more cynicism. The cover art is a bit dull – in fact, it is very cheesy and that can hurt a film like this. I would pick it up, but I think you should present yourself with a flashy cover to try and catch the attention of those casual movie watchers. It could possibly give your film more exposure. Make sure you check out Gary Ugarek’s epic zombie film Deadlands 2: Trapped which was released this past Tuesday – October 27, 2009!

HD DVD REVIEW

Director Gary Ugarek was kind enough to graciously send me a screener copy of his limited edition HD DVD version of Deadlands 2: Trapped for review. The presentation significantly clearer than its DVD counterpart. The “No Money and A Camera” featurettes are exclusive to the HD DVD edition and do take you into the rabbit hole of indie film making. You receive different outlooks and advice from not only Gary but from Women’s Studies director Lonnie Martin and Ninja vs. Zombie’s director Justine Timpane plus a few words from the producers. They tell about all the woes of tireless nights, the give-all-or-nothing aspect, and just the overhaul burden of indie film projects. Yet, they emphasize on how rewarding it can be when it is all said and done. These are education featurettes worthy of a watch.

The overall HD DVD Review for Deadlands 2: Trapped is moderately fair. The presentation image shot in JVC is significantly better. The audio is the same with the D.D. 2.0. Though this is not the official HD DVD copy but a screener, I’ll let the technical details slide. The extras, again, surprise me as the exclusive featurettes really put a shine into the HD DVD version. However, the extras on the DVD edition are not present on the HD DVD version. Basically, you have to buy both to see everything that is to be offered. I don’t have the HD DVD cover art in hand but from what I’ve seen online, the art does have promise – much more than the DVD version. If I had to choose a format to watch Deadlands 2: Trapped, the chances are more greater for the HD DVD version for its image quality, its nicely done animated menu, a better looking cover art, and its more insightful featurettes.