The Super Network

Even though I am one that likes to go into films blind, that can’t always be the case. I had read the synopsis and seen the awesome trailer for Dead Shadows, and everything about it just screamed my name. It felt very much like my kind of film, and I did let myself get excited to see it. Was this a good or bad thing on my behalf? Did the film live up to the hype that I had created for myself? You bet it did, and it even exceeded them!

Dead Shadows is a very cool piece of cinema, with a strange premise that drew me in instantly. The film begins by introducing us to Chris (Fabian Wolfrom), whose parents were killed when he was younger. On that night a comet was passing Earth, and now Chris is experiencing that again as another comet is passing by. He starts to notice awfully strange behaviour from those around him, and it isn’t long before those people start to act violent. He teams up with his tough as nails neighbour John (John Fallon) to try and get out of his building and see what exactly is happening …

I actually really love the ideas that this film has, the whole comet coming close to Earth concept is an interesting one. People in the film don’t seem to care either way, even with strange things happening around them. Is that how people today would react? Are we at a point where people either panic over things or don’t even notice them at all? It is interesting to think about, and I do like the way Dead Shadows covers that.

I would rather not give too much away about what is going on, as you need to see the film to discover that. There are special effects in use, both CG and practical and my goodness folks are they ever fantastic. I mean WOW! I was actually stunned with how great they both were, the CG looked incredible and it isn’t often you come across lower budget films that have top notch CG. I was reminded of The 25th Reich in that respect, it was a low budget film but the CG was great and not at all overly distracting. The practical effects were phenomenal, my jaw dropped during one scene over how great it looked and another reminded why this art form needs to continue.

On the acting side, I was a happy camper; I thought everyone did a bang up job. Fabian Wolfrom was a solid lead, and he pulled off everything rather well. John Fallon for me stole the show, he was charismatic, witty and a badass cool cat – he’s the one you’d want on your ‘Survive The Apocalypse’ team. The script I thought was very sharp, and the build up was spot on. It really is very well rounded, and my only gripe is I wished it were a tad longer. I was so engaged with the film that I actually didn’t want it to end. The ending felt a little rushed but you know what? It didn’t ruin the experience in the least, and I had an absolute blast with the film. David Cholewa has crafted really good film, and a nice addition to the genre – it feels fresh and it is certainly worth watching.

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