Dead Season

In the last year I've seen around a dozen or so Zombie films & if was to compare this one to them it would probably land in 3rd place. In the beginning it was a little rough, it gave us a quick take on what the situation was for the lead character Elvis, all zombie films usually struggle in the beginning as to why & how he is almost the lone survivor so I can't fault it for that. As the film progressed it started to focus on the characters more than the zombie outbreak, it reminded me of the Walking Dead series on AMC. It was nice for a change to have some character development in a film like this. You will have to be a bit forgiving as to the cheap make-up & effects for the zombies as they were pretty underdone but the low budget didn't cripple it much at all. About an hour in is where this film started to pay off, giving us a dark turn of events that brings upon an urgency to act for the leads & the action starts to ramp up along with the zombie population. Some people might want to turn it off early but I promise you that if you hang in there it will deliver you a solid effort and a decent ending for all zombie genre fans alike. It wasn't a bad way to kill 90 minutes.

This is a film about a couple of people (Elvis and Tweeter) who meet up during the devastation of a zombie outbreak. They come across a guy who has some supplies and keys for a boat. They leave the Florida mainland and head towards an island. When they get there they are taken by a group of survivors to a gated complex with others living there. They soon fit in and find that there is more going on here than they thought. It soon becomes a fight for survival, and not just against the zombies.

Surprisingly, Dan Hicks is in this film. You probably will not see him, but it is interesting to me that a noted horror veteran showed up for this endeavor. His appearance may be the best thing about the movie.

Aside from some sound issues, the film is pretty good. Not a life-changing experience, but a zombie film with more going on than just zombies. There is a back story (though it remains rather murky) and a "shocking" twist (that does not really make much sense). It is a thinker... sort of.

Dead Season works primarily because it looks and feels better than it really is...which is what keeps one watching. Kudos to the production designer, location scout, make-up/effects team, gaffer and the cinematographer for keeping this viewer's interest up in this combo apocalypse and zombie tale. Wherever they shot this, the landscape, structures, and particularly the camera angles, shot composition and eerie lighting lent credence to the narrative. Some decent gore and gross-out effects helped out as well.

I give it an 8 because of the visual effect of the movie which clearly had to make up for a pretty limited budget...and which succeeds in that regard. As low-budget zombie flicks go, that's actually saying quite a lot.

I've probably seen most zombie related movies which include all of Romero's work, 28 days/weeks and the less serious 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Fido'. 'Dead Season' fits right around the middle simply because it doesn't add much to what's already been done. It feels like an extension to one of the other movies where you follow the characters after they finally get away from the main population.

The acting is obviously a little uneven because only the four main actors have real experience which always seems to be an issue with indie films. The secondary actors are noticeably less experienced but not enough to be a problem, they are really just scenery for the most part. The rest of the production is so well done that it's shame the story is so generic.

If you're a fan of all things zombie and need a new one to watch then I would recommend it because it's well done overall even with the flaws.

Dead Season (2012)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Better than average film starts off after a zombie apocalypse takes out most people. Survivors Elvis (Scott Peat) and Tweeter (Marissa Merrill) meet by chance and soon the two jump in a boat and head off to an island. Once there they find more survivors being led by a man (James C. Burns) who is up to something darker than zombies. DEAD SEASON suffers somewhat from its obvious low-budget but for the most part this was an entertaining film that managed to have some brains for it, which isn't the norm for this type of picture. Unlike most movies that turn up on DVD, this one here isn't about cheap gore and dumb action. Instead we're given a pretty interesting story that actually had me caring about the characters, their issues and the situation that they're in. I thought the entire story was pretty good and I enjoyed seeing what a group of survivors might be doing to try and continue their lives while everything around them is pretty much dead. A lot of credit must go to the performances, which I found to be very good. I especially liked Merrill who was great in her role and I hope to see more of her in the future. I also enjoyed Corsica Wilson who plays a daughter locked up in the village. The gore effects are pretty graphic for this type of picture as there are several damaging bites and heads being shot off. I think a higher budget would have allowed for some of the plot to be developed more but there's still no question that this film gets quite a bit done and the majority of it done very well. Fans of the genre should be entertained by this one.