Angel (Roberto Urbina), a U.S. border Agent, and his partner Ray (McCaul Lombardi) run a tight ship maintaining the border. One day, while patrolling, Angel receives a call and satellite coordinates about suspicious activity nearby. When he arrives and investigates the location, he finds a mysterious man trying to cross a river. Angel urgently asks the man to stop, warning him that the current can take him if he’s not careful. The man ignores him and continues to try and cross, but sadly, just as Angel warned, the current takes him downstream. Later, Angel finds the man dead.
Putting the dead body in a body bag, he begins to move on before receiving an urgent radio call asking him to return home as soon as possible. The conversation is cut off before Angel can understand why it’s urgent. At the same time, the mystery man (Luis Chávez) Angel just put into a body bag awakens in Angel’s backseat. Angel urgently rushes to get the man medical assistance; after all, he recently thought the man was dead. Angel delivers the man to a group of military doctors and handcuffs him for safety purposes before once again rushing towards home to deal with the recent distress call. But as Angel returns home, he makes another strange and unexplainable discovery about a family member. It’s not long until Angel is urgently called once again regarding the mysterious man he just dropped off with the military doctors and this time, more blood has been shed. What is the true purpose of this mystery man entering the town, and can Angel fully grasp what is happening?
This is a feature film directorial debut for Lance Larson, who also serves as one of the writers. Lance’s past work includes a short film titled Bloom (2008), along with working as an editor on American Detective from 1999. While watching the first act unfold, I was surprised for multiple reasons, particularly regarding the film’s plot and story. Going in, I thought this would be a simplistic story about a good guy and a bad guy causing havoc in a small town. Thankfully, this film is more profound and mysterious than I expected. The first praise from me is that nothing about Deadland is ever predictable. Deadland’s story is deeply engaging, given its multiple characters and various storylines, all revolving around Angel at the centre. As Angel multitasks and tries to control all the problems and mysteries while protecting others close to him, including his family and fellow law officers, his problems seem small to start with before building towards a larger plot and a more significant conclusion. Even if viewers cannot fully grasp some of the film’s reveals, I can’t deny that the movie is engaging and entertaining as both a thriller and a Western.
Visually, I found the film unique, intense, engaging, and gripping. Performances are quite good here, particularly from the leads played by Roberto Urbina and Luis Chávez. The chemistry the two share whenever they are on-screen was easily the most exciting combination for me. The moments they share are always filled with uncertainty and tension.
Overall, I expected this film to be another story about a good cop trying to stop a bad guy. However, Deadland is an entirely different film. Thanks to a mysterious first act and many unexplainable events around the film’s lead, it’s impossible not to be engaged and want to go on a journey with Angel Waters. Just as Angel is determined to find out what is going on, particularly when it comes to the mysterious stranger who has crossed the river, viewers are keen to find out what’s happening. Deadland is an enjoyable film with substantial amounts of unpredictability and solid and thrilling visuals. Even if some aspects surrounding the finale may come across as slightly unclear, I can’t deny it: the story kept my engagement, and there’s something unusually fresh about this film.
Deadland (2023) will be available on Digital in Australia and Digital from June 26th!
6.3/10
19th June 2024
Written by Peter Walkden
Walkden Entertainment Podcasts Are Now Available!
0 Comments