Sunday, April 10, 2011
Michael Allen
Writers: Roze, Candace Rose, and Josh Staman.
Deadfall Trail is a smallish indie production, which released in some theatres May 16, 2010. Recently, Fearnet.com has been hosting this horror title, as part of its online movies for April, 2011. This is director Roze's first feature film and so, the film suffers from some pacing issues, a stumbling plot direction and a missing unifying theme. The result is a beautiful (cinematography) film, but there is the mundane and a convoluted story to wade through, in the meantime.
Paul (>Cavin Gray Schneider), John (Slade Hall) and Julian (Shane Dean) set out for an extended wilderness survival hike. There are no action sequences to hook your attention, nor interesting plot twists, early. Instead, you must wait for the tension to build between the newbie, Paul, and the experienced survivalist, Julian. Fourty-five minutes in and finally these two characters are butting heads, as John struggles to stay alive after a freak accident. The length of film that unwinds before the excitement builds, will leave some people in the dust.
While the soundtrack promises country, the film shows one man's psychological breakdown. Marc Patterson at Brutal Shell also notices the strange musical selections: "I do feel it could use...a replacement of the twangy country soundtrack." The visual and the aural conflict, while the writing struggles to find a purpose.
A theme is tacked on in the beginning and near the end of the film about the "laws of nature" (Deadfall). However, the laws of nature are never defined for the viewer and the screen only tells us to turn on our friends, after taking mass quantities of peyote. Is this what nature wants of us? Animalistic, drug fueled blood lust?
There is likely a deeper meaning here, if one is willing to scrape through the foliage. The message the film seems to be stumbling for, is that surviving can break down a man, despite experience in the outdoors, or that losing a friend can have devastating effects upon the psyche. Both of these themes are only briefly touched upon, as Deadfall Trail delivers a confusing message of nature and mans' place in it.
This film is currently being hosted at Fearnet.com and while this reviewer did enjoy many of the scenes, the film seems to need some kind of belt tightening. Overall, Deadfall Trail might be for some, but others might want to stay clear of the woods in favour of more exciting and noteworthy horror.
Overall: 6 out of 10 (excellent cinematography, music sounds good, but is mismatched to the film, there is no unifying theme, bloody ending - could have come earlier, with a hook).
The film's homepage is here:
Deadfall Trail's Homepage
Other reviews on the film are listed here:
DeadFall Trail Reviewed at Wild Side Cinema
Deadfall Trailer Reviewed at Brutal Shell by Patterson
Best to watch this film on Fearnet.com, before deciding to purchase:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA
| | | | | |
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis by Email
Posted in: candace rose,cavin gray schneider,deadfall trail,drug use,josh staman,movie review,movie review 2011,nature,peyote,roze,shane dean,slad hall,survivalist movie review
0 comments:
Post a Comment