Deadlands: The Rising (2006)

Unexplained explosions rock several major U.S. cities. As the night unfolds, more mysterious events are yet to come. In Baltimore, five strangers take a stand as the world is rapidly consumed by the living dead! A man stuck in a traffic jam narrowly escapes to warn others of what s heading their way... best friends fight to return home and find the fate of their families... a mother and son desperately seek to escape the horrors gathering outside. While each human stands to fight and survive, the army of the dead continues to grow... Product Description

Just AWFUL!! What a waste of time!

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of low budget horror but, give me a break! There is a point when "home made" is not a good thing. This was probably done over a couple of days with a digital camcorder by about a dozen people with a very slim idea of what plot means and what special effects look like. The worst movie I have ever seen. I have seen home movies and slide shows that had better pacing and that built better suspense. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY! Run from this dog of a pretend film. September 2, 2008

A review from Zombiefans!

Well...here's goes...


1) ACTING: Not bad; typical for low budget fare. Some are good, some are bad, some are REALLY bad, the usual. Again, some of the lines that the actors had were a little tough, and I wonder if even the best of master thespians could have pulled those lines off. While it is nice to see "everyday people" in a movie, Hollywood has almost demanded that the main heroes are "pretty people."

2) PRODUCTION: Again, not too bad. I enjoyed the scene where all the cars are backed up in traffic and the zombies attack. Nicely done; very apocolyptic. Some minor lighting issues (one dark scene had the "Gary" character talking to someone, and only Gary's ear was in the light...unintentional humor). The blood and gore wasn't all that bad...for what there was of it. One continuity goof that REALLY stuck out was the Conner's dog. It is written into the script, the scene where Conner's mom goes upstairs to get the dog. She comes back downstairs with the dog and...that's it. Conner and his mom leave the house, seconds later, and the dog is nowhere to be seen. This little slip ruined the next scene for me where Conner's mom finds the cop dead after being attacked by zombies. I was so distracted by the missing dog, I had to hit reverse on the DVD player to see if I missed anything. There was also a lot of slow-motion shots used in the movie that I really didn't understand why. And the ending was rather abrupt. I wasn't even sure the movie was over until the credits began to roll. Of all that I seen, I think the biggest problem was the script. Minimal action for the first 30 minutes or so caused my mind to wander. I know that plotlines need to be set up to be put in motion, but perhaps they could've been woven into some action to get us to the second part of the movie when the zombies attack and the action really starts. In my opinion, I believe that this movie could have been better, if the director was not part of the acting ensemble. I think that way he could've focused more on the script, the filming, and the budget, tightening things up.

3) THE ZOMBIES: We have a mix of "Romero shamblers" and "Snyder runners." There seemed to be no ryhme or reason, as some shambling zombies would run, stalk, and attack in later scenes. Some of the zombie were almost like ninjas, as they silently would appear out of nowhere. The make up consisted of white / grey face with dark sunken eyes and minimal facial applications. Nothing really new is brought to the zombie genre in the movie as the zombie do what they do best, kill and eat.

4) THE CAUSE: While nothing solid is ever mentioned, I imagine that the zombie epidemic is related to the explosions that hit a lot of U.S. cities.

5) NUDITY: None.


First and foremost, I am NOT a movie director. I have NOT made my own film, and most likely, never will. But, as a PAYING CUSTOMER whose dollars support this film genre, I deserve the best damn product that can be made. Some of the dreck that gets put out nowadays is an insult to both me and my wallet. That said, back to my review.

I do not hate this movie. This movie is not the worst zombie movie ever made. Is it incredible? The 'Citizen Kane' of zombie movies? No. But, it is an average, passable entry into the zombie movie genre. Sadly, I think it will be dismissed as another low budget zombie flick and easily forgotten. I really believe if the script had been tighter, and if the director was not acting as well, this could've been a pretty good movie. Being a first time director / producer, hopefully the director will take notice of any problems that may have occurred and be able to correct them in his next production.


RATING: 2 out of 5 November 20, 2007

Great horror film

Clocking in at 63mins..I enjoyed this film alot. I love low budget movies and how they present this film is great, and the suspence can be cut with a knife. Very well done, great effects for what they had to work with and passable acting. The stry needs to be continued. The extras are good to. May 9, 2007

Well below expectations

C- = A little disapointed I must say. After watching tons of zombie movies, several of them indie recently - I set a high bar for Deadlands. The expectation did not meet the result. Sorry to say.

The editing was poor. Several shots showed nothing but empty street. And showingcasing that Mustang - was boring.

The two protagonists - drew no sympathy from me. Neither did the fat mother and the child. I could not wait until they all got eaten.

The two interesting characters - survivalist gun nut brother in law, and the guy with the hat who warned the folks at the shelter - did not get enough airtime.

Gun handling was terrible in this movie. No regard for the rules of safety. And drinking while shooting. Wow. Another terrible stereotype.

The entire National guard squad - was unshaven, did not have full uniforms. One can only suspend ones disbelief for so long.

Lastly one side of the freeway is jammed with cars, yet the other side is wide open. None of the people decide to do the smart thing - turn back. Genius.

Sixty three minutes for $17.99? Not worth it. Wait until it hits the $5 bin if you really need a mediocre zombie movie. April 27, 2007

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