Deadlands 2: Trapped - Reviewed by axlish
Release Date: Fall 2009 (tbd)
Directed by: Gary Ugarek
Released by: tbd (screener copy)
MOVIE: 3.5 out of 5 Skulls
In 2006, first time filmmaker Gary Ugarek unleashed his zombie opus Deadlands: The Rising onto the world. Shot on a high-end miniDV camera, Gary turned a meager $10,000 budget into something that was not only releasable, but also just so happened to be the highest selling DVD of the year for Tempe Video. Being the product of a novice, Deadlands sported a few warts on its nose but the promise of a decent filmmaker was evident. Gary’s head was in the right place and it seemed like only a matter of time before he churned out a classic. In late 2007, Gary began working on his next big project. Although it went through a few idea shifts, what we now have is an in-name only sequel to Deadlands titled Deadlands 2: Trapped.
Deadlands 2 begins in a locked down US government run office building, which serves as a situation room for a psychotic bio-chemical experiment aimed at the town of Hagerstown, Maryland. Once released, the gas will turn over 90% of the human subjects who come into contact with it into super charged zombie hunters. The government agency is lead by Dr. Robert Mitchell (played by Jim Krut who played the Helicopter Zombie in the original Dawn of the Dead), a no-nonsense suit who calmly dictates his maniacal orders to his underlings. Once the “soldiers” are up and running, Dr. Mitchell and his staff will merely sit by and watch the chaos unfold as the few remaining humans that aren’t effected by the bio-chemical try their best to survive.
It is a normal evening in Hagerstown. People change shifts at work, go to the movies, and meet friends for drinks while military personal prep a perimeter around the town, aimed at containing infected. Before long, the whole town is overrun with fast moving undead and a handful of survivors end up trapped at the local movie theatre. With no knowledge of the situation, these few remaining characters must not only survive the night, but must also escape ground zero before 6:00 am when the experiment is scheduled to ominously conclude.
Deadlands 2: Trapped is an entertaining ninety-minute zombie flick that doesn’t disappoint. Gary is able to churn out something that looks damn near Hollywood quality for a budget that is under $6,000. Gary has stepped up his game for Trapped, creating a more cohesive film than his first effort. The film has a nice flow to it as you watch the government plot their actions while citizens go about their lives in a believable fashion. The acting is surprisingly good, highlighted by the performance of Jim Krut. When I first saw his name on the credits, I thought to myself “Jim is a cool guy, but a leading man?” I was completely wrong. He delivers his dialogue with a grandfatherly calmness that emphasizes the gravity of what he is saying, and also successfully portrays his complete lack of concern for those that may get hurt by his actions. The rest of the cast is commendable as well with no real let downs in their respective performances.
The Hagerstown 10 Theatre, which was used as the setting for a majority of the film, is a great location, which Gary utilizes to the fullest. The film is chock full of atmosphere supported by slow, eerie establishing shots and an almost wall-to-wall ethereal sounding synth score. There is also a nice amount of bloodletting with an appropriate dose of gut munching and flesh ripping. The effects team should be proud of their efforts. The film also boasts an impressive amount of zombies which appears to be in the hundreds.
I do have one major gripe with the film. Along the way, a zombie bites one of the survivors after getting out of a car to check on what he thought was a drunken woman. When he approaches the woman lying on the ground, we quickly cut to another completely different car where a woman is fighting off an attempted rape. The scene concludes with the two of them being overrun by zombies. We cut back to the original car with the victim now bit. I rewound the scene several times to try and make sense of it but alas, I wrote it off as a tragic loss of materials that could not be recouped, and has been edited together in the best way possible.
Deadlands 2: Trapped is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The film looks great and is a bit artsy at times in its cinematography. The score really lends itself to the film and is presented in crisp 2.0 stereo, which I imagine will be upgraded on the final DVD and/or Blu-ray. The film is like a mesh between Return of the Living Dead and Resident Evil, with a twist of Lamberto Bava’s Demons. If you are a fan of any of those films, or zombie films in general, then I highly recommend seeking out Deadlands 2: Trapped upon release.
Recommended
Reviewed By: axlish