Deadsight

I very nearly skipped this movie because of the low rating and super cheesy cover art. Glad I didn't! I really don't understand the hate for this movie, it's much better than the rating suggests. Yes it's a bit on the lower budget side, but the production values are pretty good. It's a slow burner and relies more on atmosphere than the usual installments in the genre. There are very few characters - the story is set around a very recently blinded man and a very pregnant lady. The ending was predictable, but if you're a fan of the genre you're likely forgiving of such things. The acting & special effects were fine. It's not the best zombie movie you'll ever see, but it's pretty good. If you're a fan of the genre don't skip this one.

There's a saying in German schools, that goes something like "he/she was always trying to do his/her best". Now that is code that can be read as, that person could not really achieve anything. Now this movie has a nice almost unique idea, but it does not do its best with it.

There are certain segments/scenes that really feel like they go on forever. The ending almost makes up for most of it, which can be seen in ... well I guess ambiguity. I'm not sure if it was meant that way, but you can read something into it ... then again, I might be too nice, as I've been accused of before ...

Blind guy in a zombie apocalypse is a nice take, which has enough suspense until the pregnant woman joins, who is a bit much. Make up is fine while effects show its a cheap movie, as does the hurried ending. Still nice enough movie for fans.

An amnesic blind man (Adam Seybold) awakes alone in the back of an ambulance and unsuccessfully tries to contact anybody using the radio. Soon he finds zombies attacking him but he succeeds to flee to a farmhouse where he hides himself. Meanwhile the pregnant police officer Mara Madigan (Liv Collins) is lured by a sick woman and her police car is hijacked. She walks on the road and reaches the same farmhouse where the blind man is hidden. She decides to look for the ambulance to leave the place but it has run out of gas since the man, Ben Neilson, had started the car and left it working. Now Mara and Ben need to team up to escape from the zombies.

"Deadsight" is a disappointing film without storyline. The poor screenplay is a complete mess and there is only a weak explanation close to the end of the story about the zombie outbreak. In addition, the lead characters are stupid and their decisions are always silly and inadequate. The art of the poster is the best this film can offer. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Have a thing for good concepts in films, love it when the film, shows etc lives up to it or exceeds it but hate it when it is wasted by lacking execution or when it doesn't quite hit the mark. There are numerous examples of both in film and television, but recently it has sadly leaned towards the latter and it is especially frustrating when the concept is more than good and then there are other things that show so much potential.

'Deadsight's' concept was one of the best for any film seen recently, and that it appeared like it tried to do something different is to be admired. It was not an over-familiar one, and while there are recognisable elements of course for a film with zombies didn't find myself thinking that it was your typical zombie film and don't really class it as one. More a horror-thriller with them featured. The good news is that in my view, the concept was not wasted, as there are good things about 'Deadsight'. Do think however that there was big potential to do so much more and it was one of those not sure what to make of it films.

Will start with the good things. 'Deadsight' looks good, surprisingly so considering the cover made it look as though it would look very cheesy and cheap. That's not the case, found the photography stylish and atmospheric, the effects are not overused or abused and the make-up is suitably freaky and doesn't look goofy. There is some eeriness in the music, and there are tension and thrills to be had (there could have been more certainly but they were there) and genuine they were too.

The two lead characters are worth rooting for, their chemistry unforced, and while the zombies are underused they do have menace. Adam Seybold and Liv Collins fare more than adequately in the lead roles, even actually found them good where they seemed to care about their predicament.

On the other hand, there are things that 'Deadsight' could have done better. The story, even for one with a deliberate pace, did drag and there are uneventful stretches that indicated that there wasn't enough in the story to sustain the length. While a good job is done with the leads, the other characters are very bland and don't fit as comfortably, some didn't seem necessary either.

Also felt that the dalogue could have flowed much better and when there was any it was a little too heavy on exposition, especially in the early portions. The film really peters out at the climax, it is predictable, any attempts at explanation (and too much is left unanswered) are vague and there is a complete lack of tension or anything really.

In conclusion, not an easy film to rate. Not bad but could have been much better. 5/10