Deaden (2006)

Very Cool!!!

Powerful

Absolutely the worst movie.

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

There is something thrilling about revenge movies. Take KILL BILL VOL. 1 and 2 or any of the Chan-wook Park films including SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, OLDBOY and LADY VENGEANCE. You get a sense of, "what would I do?" and for me, it is a satisfying experience to see the revenge and ultimate betrayal of what comes with it. But what happens when the revenge gets down and dirty? Take away the budget and you get something like the cult classic I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE or LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, a dirty, raw and vicious look at the art of revenge.Well I'm happy to say, the Christian Veil and John Fallon collaboration DEADEN can proudly be added to that list. It has all the qualities of a new cult classic, as I said, it's raw and brutal but one thing it also has in abundance is charisma. In many ways it is a better film than "Grave" and you can credit that to a wonderful lead performance by Mr. John Fallon. Yes, he's got the machismo, but that seems to come easy for some; just look tough and act like you know what you are doing when pointing a gun at someone. But John also has vulnerability, loads of it. He suffers horrible in the opening sequence, the one which inspires his revenge in a Chuck Bronson sort of way. And you believe it. This film would not have worked with a lesser actor as Rane, the pain killer addicted druggy and the much put upon and surprising survivor of a nasty attack.I don't want to give to much away regarding plot because all you really need to know is that somebody screws somebody over in a BIG way, and revenge will be exacted. At what cost you may say… Well, lucky for us, both Fallon and Veil seem to love the art of horror and even though this is not a horror film per se, the images portrayed definitely feel horrific in mood and for such a limited budget, really shine here.And as with many low-budget shockers, this isn't a perfect film. There are a few performances that seem either a little flat or way too "chew up the scenery" big. But most of them do their job competently. I also had a few moments where I felt the budget and that had to do with a couple of odd cuts and crude camera work. But Christian Veil knows the kind of movie he is making and he gives us more than enough action to make us long for the politically incorrect films of the Seventies. This is a nostalgic look back at the dark, brooding anti-hero who has a personal vendetta, and he happens to dig cocaine and messing people up! This is a bloody, vicious and violent flick with a little T & A for good measure and it may very well become a cult classic.

I was lucky enough to see a representation of Deaden during a private screening. I was expecting a "balls to the wall" type of movie but to my surprise i was greeted to not only that but an actual character study. There are more than guns doing the talking in this flick. Fallon's performance was great, displaying a wide range of emotions. The chemistry between Raine and Kersey is very palpable and believable. Great balance between the action and the story. The movie moves at a fast pace and never overstays its welcome. The flick looks great: editing, filters, effects. Visually, it actually reminded me of Domino. You can feel the love and effort that was put to create this movie, behind and in front of the camera. Viel did an impressive job. I can only imagine what they would've done with a bigger budget. Props to all involved for providing us with such a movie. They are far in between nowadays.

I had the opportunity to catch this one at a private screening last week. Finally a film that has not been over hyped and does not pretend to be anything else than what it is supposed be, violent B entertainment. I do not want to say much because this one holds a few surprises (you wont forget the opening sequence, actually that is if you can sit through it!!) but its premise is not overly complicated, here is all you need to now for now: A man seeks revenge against a crime syndicate responsible for the brutal murder of his wife.Directed by Christian Viel (Evil Breed) and starring John Fallon (who also wrote it) Deaden is pretty straightforward. For about an hour and a half, you witness the main character endless descent into hell and self abuse in his search for vindication. Absolutely tongue and cheek, this movie, even if flawed at times, is not limited by its micro budget and still manages to entertain. You can see these guys had a blast making it. Fast paced, graphic and 100% politically incorrect, see it if you can. You know what they say, no guts no glory, well this one got both and heavy on the first!

"Deaden" is a difficult movie to talk about. I don't have any doubts of my feelings about the picture but it can be an uncomfortable experience to watch for those who don't know about what Viel and Fallon are talking. I was lucky enough to saw this film at its European premiere in Sitges Film Festival. I remark that I saw this film at Sitges because 5 years ago I saw there Kim Ki Duk's "Address unknown". After that screening I called a friend and told him that the Korean master had made a manifest about human cruelty, after seeing "Deaden" I thought that Christian Viel (the director) and John Fallon (the screenwriter, actor and producer) have made a manifest about human rage. The story line is classic, a vengeance movie about the payback that an ex cover policeman, that becomes a drug dealer because of his job, takes against the punks that rape his wife (with a baseball bat in full detail!) and murder his ¡unborn son! (In extreme full detail!). Yeah, I know that it sounds crazy. But think for a moment. If you don't know who the people that made that movie are and someone tells you that this is the plot line of the new Takashi Miike film, all of us would be dying to see this picture. So, what I'm trying to say is that you must see the film without any prejudices. The picture takes us to an unpleasant and nihilistic downward spiral to the last days (almost hours) of a human soul. The history of a man betrayed by a system in which he believed in, first, by becoming what he hate most and after that by being abandoned by them after the brutal murder that I talked before. The movie is sad; yes, it has some macabre gags, but the face of Fallon in the fine montage at the beginning is what marks the tone of the movie. His facial expression is what you're remembering during the picture, because (and that is very intelligent way of using the expectations of the public by the filmmakers) we have seen lots of vigilante films (spoilers!) and we know what he'll do after the revenge is complete and why he'll do that.(End of spoilers) The movie perfectly reflects the anger and the rage that invades you after you're assaulted or your girlfriend is raped or simply when you're humiliated by your boss or betrayed by someone you love. A violent impulse that drives you to your limits and to the dark side of your soul where you reject everything that you believed in, that's what the movie is about and that's what happens to the main character. But to understand that you must see the movie with your mind open and ready to be punch. Because you will be punched, but with style; I hate to comment films talking about other films, but think that the style of the movie is like "PI" in vivid colors, without any budget and on steroids. You'll see a very inventive way to film a guy sniffing cocaine (there's also a VERY funny recurring way that pays tribute to "Scarface") and you'll also see that every killing of this movie is different from each other and most of the them are committed with very unusual weapons (the movie features a new way to play pool that Ruggero Deodato will enjoy a lot). Because, of course, "Deaden" is a serious movie but also a non stop fast paced action picture (filmmakers and editors, take notice of the rhythm) that pays tribute to the 80's and 70's action films; you'll appreciate references to "Dirty Harry", "Death Wish", Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, "Rocky" and all Sly Stallone's films and "Requiem for a dream" (don't be surprised by that, "Deaden" tells a story). And please remember what I told you before; don't have any prejudices when you're seeing that movie. Remember that is an old school action movie with a lot of social comment much more in the line of "Class of '84" (a film that almost only Roger Ebert defended in its premiere) than a Cannon film (that are great in their own way). And to you upcoming filmmakers and actors you must support Viel and Fallon's movie because it is made with little money but with lots of love. A film made by fans for fans. I hope that their next feature will be at the same category of that one, because "Deaden's" cult has just born.