What if you made a post-apocalyptic movie with some really interesting ideas, convincing character actors and the potential to create your own story ecosystem? Deadland is that movie. I stumbled across it basically by accident, and since I am a sucker for post-apocalyptic cinema, I needed to watch it. Turns out it is quite a creative work, with a really gorgeous opening credits part, a decent actor in the main part, and chock full of potential. The goods: It creates an interesting world where the US is trying to reorganize after a nuclear war. There is an epidemic, the perils of a renegade police state structure, lone drifters and rebel groups, prostitution camps and grand conspiracies. The flick is well-made, doesn’t look cheap and has no reason to hide behind big budget productions. The bad: There are moments where the grand set-up is not being fulfilled and the low production value shows, such as when people keep running through the same part of a forest, when obviously there was no money for set constructions or wardrobe, and when many aspects of the script are left unanswered.
Deadland paints a godforsaken, but hopeful vision of a post-apocalyptic future, in which life as you know it with its rules has no more effect. The movie opens up a box of opportunities for creativity, and might be TV show material. Too bad the movie falls short in a few aspects and cannot completely shake off its indie-flick nature. But, having said that, I can totally recommend it.
