Deadsight

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 ...

Right, well with my unhealthy interest in all things zombie, of course I had to sit down and watch "Deadsight". I didn't know anything about it, much less knew of its existence before I stumbled upon this 2018 movie by random chance in mid-2019.

Well, the storyline in "Deadsight" didn't really deviate all that much from your average, generic zombie movie. A couple of survivors band together to live through a zombie outbreak. And the audience is, of course, given no insight into the outbreak - where it started, what it is, or anything of the like - surprise, surprise.

The movie had essentially just two characters you needed to relate to, the rest was just random filler. That meant that Adam Seybold, playing the blinded Ben Neilson, and Liv Collins, playing pregnant police officer Mara Madigan, had to perform on a higher level to carry the movie. So did they? Well, to an extend. It would have been working better if they had been given characters that were more fleshed out. Ben Neilson, for instance, didn't know how he ended up in an ambulance being blinded, but he had no problems remembering other things, and Mara Madigan seemed very surprised at everything they came upon while traveling, and she was supposed to be the local police officer. No, it just didn't really work all that well.

"Deadsight" is a fairly slow paced movie, which was a fact that worked against the overall enjoyment of the movie I'd say. And also the shortage of zombies wasn't really working in favor of the movie. And I love how the police officer resorted to shooting people in the head as her first option when entering a hostile situation. How very police-like. Duh!

The make-up on the zombies was adequate. Don't expect the usual gut eating scenes as zombie movies tend to include. But the make-up was, for the most part, good on the zombies in the movie. I didn't like the fact that the zombies were able to open windows and doors. That was just odd.

All in all, "Deadsight" is a mediocre entry in the zombie genre. It is a movie that came and went without as much as a groan, much less a bite. I sat through it, and I can honestly say that it is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

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

No talking you to death about the meaning of life or how the new reality of zombies has existential metaphorical purpose. Good jump scares, actual action, and the pervasive feeling of the leads being under constant threat makes this a fun movie to watch.

7/10

The movie itself and the acting are just fine. Having one of the two main characters being blind at the start of a zombie plague is something different. Bad enough to be blind but during a zombie attack, that would just plain suck. Talk about terrifying.

My only real problem with the movie is that in every case a decision could be made they made the worst one possible. First off, at the start she fires 4 rounds from her semi-auto pistol and says she only has 2 rounds left. Yes, there are 6 rounds magazines but this is a police primary weapon, not a sub-compact. Possible sure, but not terribly probable and not a spare magazine or round to be had. Speaking of which, at the farm house two zombies/bodies are present which would apparently be the husband and wife. He's in the tub having shot himself and the revolver is still in his hand. She's got 2 rounds left but does she take the pistol, nope. She covers it and him with a sheet. Nor does she look for any more weapons or ammo around, on a farm. Now they are determined they have to get back to the ambulance because apparently there are no vehicles on this farm at all. Not that they check. So she tools up with an ax for him (who's staying behind) and a machete for her. Now the first time he uses the ax, he doesn't accidentally lose it, he leaves it behind. The first time she uses the machete, she leaves it behind. She empties her pistol and throws it away. Later she actually gets the farmers pistol, still doesn't look for more ammo and throws it away as soon it's empty. That's just the first half of the film.