One of the largest problems with zombie movies, often comes from the excess, it feels with a view of George Romero’s commercialism in Dawn of the Dead. The locations center in cookie-cutter neighborhoods, apartment buildings, malls, and military bases, and lost in the translation is the alienation, that lonesome house off a barren road in the middle of nowhere, perhaps unaware of the undead presence. Or a mountaintop retreat for a small family or even corporate executives, though face it, if any of them were lawyers, we all root for the zombies. That brings us to Deadsight, a fresh take on the subgenre of zombie flicks, a Canadian, viral outbreak movie, from director Jesse Thomas Cook (Septic Man [2013]) and screenplay by Kevin Revie and Liv Collins, who also stars in the film. Cook, created a tension filled movie, with isolationism and personal handicaps adding to the suspense.
An unknown virus, from an undetermined origin begins attacking the quiet and peaceful residents of Grey County, turning them into zombies. The viewers stumble upon Ben Neilson (Adam Seybold (The Chair [2007]) who finds himself handcuffed to an ambulance gurney and his eyes are recently bandaged manages to crawl forward to send a brief SOS from the radio, unsure if some heard it,. Well someone did, Mara Madigan (Liv Collins) but only garble, that individual a police officer on her last day of service, why – she’s nearing the end of pregnancy, and she’s fully unaware of the terrors of the undead. Truly unsure why he leaves the safety of the ambulance at first but matters worsen and he must flee, there factors excel quickly and he relies on his hearing more than ever. Through trials and tribulations, Ben finds Mara but she’s fearful of him, handcuffs and all, but take shelter in lonesome old farmhouse, sound familiar, Night of the Living Dead (1968). Mara tries to find some help, leaving Ben alone, but flees because the dead’s unexpected arrival, where we get paranoid resident Gator (Ry Barrett,) very trigger happy, but has an interesting meeting with Ben. The final act, becomes very terror filled, filled with some solid suspense, and shall not tell anymore as that horror and zombie horde needs to discover this hidden independent gem.
One of the first things Cook does positive is get the audience interested in the situation and throws the characters together despite their dire predicaments, a blind man and a pregnant woman, both Collins and Seybold use their roles to convey anguish, frustrations and terror in the production. Their performances both strong and compelling, keeping the audience very interested in the story. Cinematographer Jeff Maher works to string the bleakness of the scenes, and the impending doom, with touches of vast openness in the area, limited shelter, and rising tension, all working to create suspenseful storyline.
Deadsight, doesn’t have a lot of goings-on, and the gore factor is slightly limited, along with a few clichés, but actually near impossible to avoid them in the zombie subgenre, therefore, there are plenty of flicks to view but not many with the level bleakness of the situation, generating some new chills. Cook shows his potential each time he creates a new film, a tad more resources who knows what the future holds for him.
https://www.facebook.com/Deadsight-Film-353091728592960/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8551868/
IMDb Rating: 4.2/10
Baron’s Rating: 5.0/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlZzgidDDQ