D4 Mortal Unit

One of the greatest true to story action flicks I've seen in a long time. It was very refreshing to find a thriller that has an actual story instead of the standard explosive sequences accenting horrible dialog (which sadly is all action/thriller fans have coming from Hollywood anymore). The actors come out gritty and true to form. No one tries to steal a scene and they all end up shining until the final credits roll. The writing holds true to what story telling once was and should be. The direction is amazing. The fact that this movie is considered low budget never crossed my mind, just due to the sheer amount quality that comes through. I recommend D$ highly whether you're an adrenaline movie junkie, having a first date, or even having family movie night.

Mr. Dickerson follows an aging grandfathers emotional search for his missing grandson and a team of skilled mercenaries are tested to their limits when hired to conduct a search an rescue for a missing teenager. i was fortunate to view this film at the Horrorhound Horror convention in Cincinnati in November 2011. Mr. Dickerson received a huge round of applause and it was well deserved. a bigger budget would mean bigger effects, but the story stands for itself and is entertaining as well as engaging. the grandfathers performance is especially exceptional an the team of hired mercenaries move the story along at a quick pace. it is a great choice for movie night.

My brother sent me this DVD as a Christmas gift and we finally got around to watching it. I was a little hesitant because monster movies aren't really my thing. It was low budget and I do mean very low budget, but for what they spent on it, they sure did get far. I've seen big budget movies that Hollywood cranks out not come anywhere close to as good in terms of story or pacing but these guys did a really fine job. I read that they shot this in two weeks in the mountains which is pretty darn amazing. Most people have no idea what it means to make a movie but my boyfriend and I are avid film buffs and we've learned a lot about indie filmmaking after watching boatloads of flicks at film festivals all over the country (he drives a truck and sometimes I tag along and we catch festivals occasionally)....well needless to say, a lot of people hate on movies because they just want to be picky but I've certainly come to appreciate every level of movie but the one thing I've learned that matters the most is the story. I read a little about D-4 right before we watched it and I found out about the director's son being an epileptic and that being the inspiration for the monster in the movie...now i don't know about you but that is just sad and inspiring at the same time. How many horror movies or action movies take the time to put a piece of themselves up there on the screen? I'm going to watch D-4 again with my parents because I think they would really like it if I told them about the metaphors in it.

I watch a lot of independent movies. Usually this means low budget. But low budget doesn't have to mean bad. D4 is a perfect example of a movie with meager means that manages to pull it off.

My biggest challenge with indie movies is production value - or the lack thereof. Darrin Dickerson manages to pull off some pretty decent production values here. Good cinematography, believable sets, and actor who (while not George Clooney or Meryl Streep) do an admirable job. Dickerson understands the details make a difference.

The story is told from two points of view that converge about 2/3 of the way in. Each story is compelling and kept me interested.

I have seen other reviews of this film speaking poorly of the quality. I guess these folks were expecting Transformers (which sucked by the way) or something from Spielberg.

If you watch most any of your typical low budget indie films and then watch D4 - you will understand how D4 stands head and shoulders above most.

The film is not rated - but under today's standards a PG-13 or soft R. No sex, minimal swearing (oddly enough), and violence that isn't in your face.

So, I watched this film, largely because all of the reviews claimed what an indie masterpiece this was. I'll admit is was a piece of something. The acting isn't too bad, but the editing sucks. There are large unnatural pauses in dialogue that grates on my mind like nails on a chalkboard. The story is OK, but totally unbelievable. A man's grandson is kidnapped and he doesn't call the cops? Because some guy in a stairwell told him they wouldn't believe him? Come on! I can't believe I wasted this much of my life on such a crap movie. They keep referring to a "beast" as an it, like it were a non-human animal, but it clearly was human. I also loved the lack of muzzle flashes on the weapons. All they did was play the sound of a gun firing. In fact most of the audio was like that. Just clearly added after the fact with no visual cue to associate it with. This is a typical B movie. Nothing more, nothing less. I guess I was just hyped into believing it was better than it was.