Deadlands 2: Trapped review posted.

[Alien Redrum]

I think writer/director has a lot of promise, but the actors really hurt this one.

Deadlands 2: Trapped review.

[The Hitman]

That's a shame - I felt like that was a lot of the problem with the first one, so I agree with your review wholeheartedly. There's a fine directing prospect hampered by some of the usual indie issues.

Glad the film came out pretty well.

[Alien Redrum]

This was a frustrating movie to review, I'll tell you that, because I see what Gary's trying to do, but the budget is so restrictive. He's got a shitton of promise, though.

[DjfunkmasterG]

That's a shame - I felt like that was a lot of the problem with the first one, so I agree with your review wholeheartedly. There's a fine directing prospect hampered by some of the usual indie issues.

Glad the film came out pretty well.

This was a frustrating movie to review, I'll tell you that, because I see what Gary's trying to do, but the budget is so restrictive. He's got a shitton of promise, though.

First let me say thanks for taking the time to review it. I know it took you a while, but, it was worth the wait, because I feel you guys tell it like it is and don't hold anything back. While I am not trying to say other reviewers don't do this, you guys just put it ou there and you either take it or leave it, which is why i wanted to make sure you guys got an early screener.

One thing your review touched upon is my desire to tell a large story, and that is 100% truth. As a zombie film fan, and a lover of all things cinema, I just can't do small scale disaster type stuff, My feeling is that I need to feel threatened by the crisis taking place, I myself have to feel it is much bigger than just the characters we are focussing on during the 90 minutes of watching the movie. Hence why I do a much larger Epic scale than my budget allows, and this is probably my biggest flaw as a beginning filmmaker, but one of the fundamentals of cinema is that it has to seem larger than life, that is the reason audiences watch movies, but I also realize they need to be entertained by a good story and characters they can relate too.

I had three goals walking into Trapped, which was not originally set as a sequel or even a second entry in the series. it was because of the popularity of Deadlands 1, that i decided to give the film the Deadlands title. Otherwise, it was originally called Trapped, well, in its script stage it was "The Escape" because it was supposed to be apart of the Zombthology series, when it was separated I changed the title to TRAPPED.

Goal #1 - On Technical Levels it had to be better than the first, which for the most part I believe it is much better.

Goal #2 - No casting of Friends in lead roles. They had to be people comfortable with being in front of the camera so I set out to cast the best actors I could find on a zero payday.

Goal #3 - It had to be done for half the amount of money of the first film, which it was coming in at $5800.00, and the scale had to be ever larger.

I agree with your assessment on the acting of Ashley and Corrine. They were both great. Infact during the casting call I gave Corrine the part on the spot. Ashley was my other first choice for Casey, although i did not screen test her, I had another demo reel from someone else that she auditioned for and i said, oh hell yes, She is Casey from top to bottom. Called her, and she accepted.

Chris Clark was cast because when i wrote the script I had him in mind as the young theater manager guy, not so much a take charge kind of dude, but someone that can keep his head together in a crisis situation... for the most part. Joe Durbin was not my original first choice as Sean, the guy who played the rapist was my first choice but he had a conflict in his schedule, so Joe was my second, but after working with him for 13 months, and looking at the movie and the screenplay, he just embodies what i envisioned out of Sean. No regrets casting him, and for what the part called for, as scripted he did his best.

One of the acting issues with the film, which I take full responsibility for, is prep time, and shooting time. Because this was shot like Deadlands 1, on weekends. We started off doing every weekend straight from 9/27/07 until 10/19/07, we broke for two weeks so the actors coudl work on paid gigs, in that time I shot the Jim Krut stuff... That guy is a lot of fun and great to work with, I highly recommend him. We were scheduled to come back, but Ashley had an accident and separated her shoulder which delayed us an extra 2 weeks, then the theater closed its doors which was another set back until the new people took over. We resumed before the Thanksgiving Holiday chugging along until December 13th and then we broke for 3 months to let winter go by. Most of the film was shot at the theater, except the Marquee stuff and the outdoor shots of the guys running to the car.

I realized my mistake in not giving the actors the working edit of what was shot so they could resume their pace, and was hoping they would pick it up where we left off, but you know what, it is mistake I won't ever forget.

Some of the things I have realized during the making of this movie... No more weekend only shoots, it fucks up pacing, and presents other problems. I need to work with the cast a little closer. I know one of my fears as a director is not pushing the actors enough for fear of them walking off because it is not a paid gig. I try to give them room to move without getting too pushy, afterall they are doing this for nothing, but I have also realized this is my downfall because it leads to uneven acting.

Another thing I have noticed is I should have done another draft of the screenplay, although I had done 5, after shooting and then editing I was like shit I should have went over it one more time. Believe me when I say this, the Jim Krut stuff is whittled way way down from what was originally scripted. I literally had to cut away alot of bad dialog, and poor scripting. I felt with the cut as you saw it was the best it could be, until I started the re-edit, now it is even better than it was, many of the over the top moments, and poor shot selection has been replaced and i think the movie paces much better, and I also tried to cut arund some of the other poor performances. Once the re-edit is finished I will send you guys another copy so you can make your own decision if I improved it or fucked it up even more.

However, I still feel this is the best of my two films so far. With all the the problems and issues, I had so much fun making this movie. I love being able to bring a huge vision to the audience on small money and while it maybe a habit I should break, i think it is my niche so to speak. I just have to overcome a lot of other hurdles... Hopefully my next project will do the trick.

Thanks again for watching it and thanks for the review.

[zigzag]

AR- Nice review, I think you were tough but fair. Creative criticism wins over a fluff job.
It helps when faults are pointed out so that if the filmmaker is unaware he can respond... unless he is a thin skinned douche that can't take criticism.


Gary- Excellent reply. I am glad that you took the time to craft a response that was sincere and thoughtful. You owned up to the lacking elements and took responsibility as a good director should.
I saw the film at the premiere, and thought-
"This guy likes to make grand pictures. I just wish someone would give him the money to realize his vision."
Your shit is big and ambitious, and I like that. I enjoy the zombie films, and look forward to seeing what else you will do.

To step on AR- "It's frightening to think what you could do if given a higher budget."

[DjfunkmasterG]

Thanks Zig,

I know I have a lot to learn yet, and I am getting there, but I can't blame budget for lacking of keeping the acting in check. Some say it is the fact I do a large scale film is the reason i fall flat in other areas, but like I said, I can't see zombies film any other way. One my friends said that You know editing, you're not bad behind the camera, you just need to work on writing and casting. He said not all directors can be writers. I agree with him not all directors can, but I am determined to lick that issue.

If I ever get to do the Deadlands movie I have envisioned, which is a quasi remake of 1, coupled with an entirely new story in the post zombie world, the scale would be the biggest ever for a zombie flick. I mean huge scale, just imagine Baltimore in a fucking war zone to start the movie off with the aftermath almost coming off like a nuclear holocaust.

Think Ft meyers in Day of the Dead on 10x the scale in terms of looks and disaster.

When it came to that script I let Women Studies director Lonnie Martin perform the final screenplay draft. I gave him a 75 page story, he turned it into a 127 page screenplay. He handled character development, I handled the action scenes. Hoping to get the money to do it someday, but while I wait I have another idea in my head I just need to flesh out, but once Deadlands 2 is done, i am going to write and direct some shorts to work on my directing with actors so i Can get consistent performances.

While I sit here and edit Deadlands 2 I notice something AR pointed out in that Ashley and Corrine are the better actors, but I think part of that was also screenplay, while I gave them little to do what I gave them they ran with, and I think in part I hit the nail on the head with their lines and characters whereas I maybe spent too much time on Sean and Chris, and maybe over did their roles. I dunno, maybe I am overanalyzing it, but AR more or less confirmed what i was worried about when i was cutting the movie.

There is a good movie in here, I just fucked it up a bit, and now I am trying to even it out. I noticed it when I was at the Queens Film Fest in NY. During our screening I was actually cringing while watching it, and made the decision to yank the movie back into post production I had already sent the screeners out before I noticed this, plus I never got to watch it at the premiere as I had to sit in the projection booth and deal with projector issues all night.

When you immerse yourself into something sometimes you don't see the flaws in post production until you have had a chance to separate yourself from it for a while. Once I was able to see it as an audience members, versus a director, I was like SHIT, FUCK, God this sucks I need to fix it. If you ever meet lonnie ask him about that night in queens, i was ready to throw the movie out the window, but the fact the technical side was such a huge improvement over part 1, I said wait, I can fix this, not everything, but I can get it back on track.

So I am doing that now, in fact I replaced over 60%of the films score, basically everything from the Strip Club Scenes to the end of the movie is all new music, and editing. I felt the first 14 minutes of the movie were paced well, it just started to slowly come apart from there, and by the 40 minute mark it ground to a halt.

I also added scenes that i never had a chance to put in the first time around, and I also cut a lot of shit out. The film will run a little longer, but the stuff that slowed it down is gone.

[Alien Redrum]

I am glad that you took the time to craft a response that was sincere and thoughtful.

There is no way I could have said it better. to you, Gary.

I'm not lying when I said it was extremely tough reviewing Deadlands 2: Trapped, because each time I watched it, I was thinking, "fuck, this needs to be bigger budgeted to be completely realized."

Your response clears a lot of things up, and makes some things make more sense. Next time I watch it, I will definitely have a lot of that in mind, and it will no doubt be more enjoyable (not that the movie isn't).

Know this, I agree with you that it's a better movie than the first, as I mentioned, you are learning your craft. But, unfortunately for you, with each movie you put out, I will watch them with a stricter eye. The more experience you get, the more I will hold you accountable. That comes across as incredibly assholish, but it's not intended as so. I can see what you are capable of, and, man, I wish someone would throw some coin your way to make it happen. Trapped is obvious growth skill wise, and that's a terrific thing. Already we, the audience, can tell you won't be stagnant, and that rocks.

I need to work with the cast a little closer. I know one of my fears as a director is not pushing the actors enough for fear of them walking off because it is not a paid gig. I try to give them room to move without getting too pushy, afterall they are doing this for nothing, but I have also realized this is my downfall because it leads to uneven acting.

I found this to be the most insightful of your post. I can completely see where you are coming from, as the fear is not unreasonable. The only advice I can offer (not being a filmmaker, but being on the sets of some), is the actors want the best movie possible, just as you do, as this reflects on them, as well. If you pushing them gets a better performance, whether they like it or not, works out better for both of you, and, in turn, better for the audience. Push them, brother. If they can't take it, they don't take their craft seriously.

You're a good director, man, and I will be buying Trapped when it streets, as well as whatever you put out in the future. Honestly, thank you for your response. It helps me see the film in a different light, and while I respected you before, I respect you even more, now.

On a side note, I neglected to mention it in my review, but I dig your scores. There is an obvious Carpenter/Goblin influence there.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Thanks for the feedback, and believe, I don't feel your response comes off as being an asshole, you should expect better with each film.

Glad you dig my scores, I think in the screener Marq-Paul is credited as the music composer, but that was when he was scheduled to do the score, what you watched was almost 100% Brian Wright and I, Marq-Paul gave us the zombie Marquee song, and the cop and the injured girl. I kept that piece in tack, replaced everything else though.

The new score is more epic, and darker in tone. i even including a lot of orchestrated elements, mixed iwth synths and 4/4 groove beats.

I was showing lonnie Martin the rough Cut of the new edit on friday and he liked the new score better, don't know if it will improve the film in terms of acting and mood, but ya never know. I did a lot of score replacement because it was way too busy when it shouldn't have been, especially during the phone call sequence.

Cheers everyone, i am off to bed, 5am comes fast. until someone gives me my millions I still have to be Working For the Man!

[DjfunkmasterG]

I just realized I never addressed the ending.

Believe it or not, the ending isn't as abrupt as it comes off.

Spoiler:

In the film Jim Kruts characters does say, "Don't worry it will all be over by 6am" Something repeated quite a bit in the time frame between the phone call and the survivors discussing it. If you notice towards the end the shot of the clock on the car radio shows the switch from 5:59 to 6:00 before it comes to an end.

Now what happened at 6, is left to the viewers imagination, similar to the series finale of the Soprano's. part Cliff Hanger, part you decide, did the guy who went to the bathroom come out and shoot Tony, or is it life as usual. I left the ending for the viewer to decide. However, in my mind, everyone is dead because as Chris said, he thinks they were going to erase the town. Something Jim Krut even mentions by saying, by 6am no one within a 30 mile radius will ever know what happened here tonight.

Food for thought.