Dead Weight (2012)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

During the zombie apocalypse, Charlie (Joe Belknap) in Toledo, tries to meet up with his girlfriend (Mary Lindberg) in Wausau, Wisconsin. He travels with some folks, they meet some people along the way. Charlie isn't wrapped tight. The film was too low budget for us to see any infected people outside of their pants leg.The film was boring. The most exciting part was the September calendar with 31 days on it. I thought the film was going to go somewhere other than straight down the tubes. While traveling, Charlie has a bunch of boring meaningless flashbacks, to make us wonder why we are still watching this.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Realistic couple from the UP. They were boring too.

Budgets don't make a movie but they can help… "Dead Weight" suffers a lot of the same pitfalls that a lot of low budget zombie films suffer from. The camera work and editing are pretty sketchy and some of the acting isn't the best. However, the acting is clearly a lot better than hundreds of other low budget movies I've seen in my life. Additionally, the film is a pretty neat experiment in the outbreak genre because it decides to not show the infected for most of the film and leaves them to be a demon in your imagination. However, they are revealed at the end and…they are very underwhelming.However, the ultimate killer in this film for me was the complete lack of urgency in the story. The story revolves around a character who, through this outbreak, is trying to get to his girlfriend and meet in Wausau, Wisconsin. For most of the beginning of the film, I never really got the feeling that he was that committed to this course of action and then *BAM* he suddenly is super determined to get to her and will kill anyone who gets in his way. It was a drastic change in tone and really hurt me from getting into the film."Dead Weight" definitely held some potential and was a neat experiment. Sadly, the experiment didn't completely succeed with me and only proved to be a "One and Done" type of film for me.

I am upset I paid to see this even if it was a cheap rental but let me say that after Charlie kills the harmless old people the group meets along the way because he finds out that they are not going to his planned destination and will tell the others not to go where he wants them to go well from this point on this movie shows it had the possibilities of being a decent film. I guess with a bigger budget, better actors and actresses and some tweaking of the script well maybe just maybe this could have been a good movie. With all that said pick it up as an extra free rental you sometimes get at movie rental places but really I say download it. The ending was decent. The last 30 minutes of the film are worth watching which is 33% of the film so I will be generous and give this film a 3/10.

Charlie (Joe Belknap) is traveling through the wilderness to find his girlfriend, Samantha (Mary Lindberg), after civilization is destroyed by widespread biological attacks. He must try to survive while dealing with other survivors and his own emotional burdens.The post-apocalyptic world is a well-trod staple of the horror genre. Some would say, not without good reason, that it has been trod just a few too many times. But "Dead Weight" succeeds with this theme by making it the background rather than the foreground of the story. This is, in fact, a romance story disguised as horror, adding an emotional level that most horror films lack.The sheer level of acting talent going into this production is remarkable. Some of those involved are professionals, who spend their every waking moment acting. Some (in fact, most) are amateurs, making their theatrical debut here. And with one or two easily overlooked exceptions, all the performances come across as strong and bold. I have seen my fair share of independent films, and this one takes talent to the next level.Directing and cinematography are top notch. A few shots seem inspired by some of the better directors out there, or even bad directors (M. Night Shyamalan) when they were at their peak. I have lived in Wisconsin for three decades and have hardly thought of it as beautiful, but the camera has brought out the best and the bleakest that winter has to offer, depending on what the scene called for. I am told that due to snow one scene had to be moved from a field to a barn, but this turned out to be a stroke of good luck -- the scene in question is among the most ominous in the film, and a field would be more difficult to capture the angles and shadows needed for the terror that ensues.And although the film is quite dark at times (with the threat of infection, murder or rape always on the horizon) there is just the right sprinkling of humor in there to keep it from getting too dark, but not too much humor that the film would devolve into a parody of itself. The jokes and their delivery seemed inspired by the early films of Kevin Smith ("Clerks" and "Mallrats"), and based on what I know of director John Pata, that seems completely appropriate.Likewise, the balance of "geek" and "non-geek" is pretty stable. The creators are well-known geeks who thrive in the world of comics and cheesy movies (which I mean in the nicest possible way). Yet, they never let this get in the way with endless homages and pointless references. Yes, Charlie is a comic reader. But he is also a fighter (you think just because a guy reads comics he can't start something?). Aside from the "Arnold moment", the film's only real nod is in giving Samantha the surname MacReady, which I took to be a subtle reference to "The Thing" (another story about survival in the snow).I say in my headline that this was "Dawn of the Dead" meets "Blue Valentine". I think the "DotD" references speaks for itself. But the "Blue Valentine" reference might not. What really sold the film was the juxtaposition of Charlie's life getting progressively worse with flashback shots of it getting progressively better. Not all romances are good ones (as Lady Gaga has so aptly reminded us). And this film nails that.Sadly, if I have to say anything bad about the film it is in the chemistry. Joe Belknap was great as a survivor and was an admirable lead character, a flawed and tragic anti-hero. But his chemistry with Mary Lindberg was just not there... the weakest scenes are the two of them interacting. Lindberg was great in every moment, but Belknap seemed to struggle with how to present himself as a boyfriend.All in all, a strong first showing from Pata and Bartlett (ignoring the shorter, funnier "Better Off Undead"). Whether they are planning to go for a big distribution deal, or quickly dive into their next project, I wish these two the success they deserve. Until now, the best thing to come out of Wisconsin was the beer and cheese. "Dead Weight" gives those two fattening staples a run for their money.