With the zombie genre being one of the most popular for low
budget independent film-makers the dearth of quality films is apparent and from
the start Dead Season (2012) would
seem to be one of those films but this film strives to give audiences more than
just the common group of strangers trapped in a single location trying to
survive the zombie plague. Instead, we
get Elvis (Scott Peat) and Tweeter (Marissa Merrill) who find themselves
unlikely companions trying to find a safe haven in a world filled with the
undead. They soon find shelter with a
group of military personnel stranded on an island which will provide them with
safety and a means of survival until they discover that this haven has secrets
of its own.
The film is far from original borrowing liberally from
everything from Day of the Dead (1985)
to 28 Days Later (2002) but it does
have a few twists and turns that keep the film at least interesting. The other thing is that Peat makes for an
interesting and conflicted Elvis which is rare for these types of films and
every though the acting in the film suffers as a whole, Peat knows when to be
serious and when to be funny preventing the film from becoming a campy mess
(which it could have easily become). Written by Joshua Klausner and Adam Deyoe
(who also directs) Dead Season may
lack the punch of other indie zombie films but it makes up for it by being a
far more interesting one.
The film is not perfect as it lacks any real drive for most
of the film other than it being about two people trying to find a safe haven
(something we’ve seen many, many times before) and it doesn’t really get
interesting until they get to the island but Elvis is an interesting character
because he comes off as an everyman instead of a “typical hero” who has to see
and discover the truth for himself.
Seeing the world through his eyes allows the audience to step into
familiar shoes. The film may not make
any bests lists but it’s not a bad way to waste ninety minutes.
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