Deadlands: The Rising
Directed by Gary Ugarek
Splatter Rampage/Tempe Video

While on the surface Deadlands: The Rising is a no-budget zombie flick, if you dig a bit deeper you'll find a well written story with a slightly unique take on the zombie genre. Sure it's rough around the edges, bit it has a lot of heart and the director is obviously a big fan of the zombie genre.

Taking the tried and true zombies attacking unsuspecting masses approach, the movie throws in a slightly different angle with the undead being the results of terrorist attacks. It isn't completely explained, but there is always an air of mystery in most zombie movies. The story is a bit slow moving at times and a bit more zombie mayhem would have been nice.

The main characters are two best friends, Gary and Brian, who are out shooting beer bottles in the woods when the attacks start. Working their way back into town they encounter the zombie madness. One of the best sequences in the movie occurs when a group of zombies attack a backed up highway full of motorists. The two friends come upon the undead horde and quickly speed off in the opposite direction needing to find an alternate route to get to Brian's home.

After returning home they discover that Brian's wife and son have gone to a relative's house that just happens to be a gun nut. They think they have a safe haven from the zombies, but if you've seen a zombie film you know that you are never truly safe from zombies.

The film is shot on digital video and it certainly looks it. Despite that fact though, the image quality is clear and the shots are well lit. You won't be mistaking the film for a Hollywood blockbuster but the picture is less grainy than most films shot on DV. They also used a crane to great lengths which gives some of the shots a very professional feel.

The director's commentary is definitely worth a watch as you'll learn more about the behind the scenes elements of low budget film making and how the movie was made on almost no money as the budget was mainly spent on equipment. It is quite interesting to hear Gary take about the different cameras used and how the script evolved as they were shooting. It gives nice insight into just how hard it is to make a low budget movie and film makers trying to soak up as much knowledge as possibly could definitely learn a thing or two from the commentary track.

The acting is a bit hit or miss. Gary, Brian and his wife all give solid performances and the conversations between Gary and Brian are all convincing and at times quite hilarious. Some of the extras give flat performances but with low budget movies you somewhat have to look past individual performances and enjoy the movie as a whole.

While the movie isn't without its problems, there is certainly a lot of potential on display here from first time director Gary Ugarek. Deadlands: The Rising is a realistic take on the zombie genre and one can only hope for a sequel as the ending is quite ambiguous.

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