Deadfall (2000)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Vince Di Meglio

Writers:

Vince Di Meglio (writer)
Brady Fischer (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Chaos has awakened.

Plot:

A dark supernatural force is unleashed, spoiling a weekend trip.

Plot Keywords:

Woods | Cabin | Demon | Ghost | Independent Film

Cast

Patrick Lawlor	...	Stanley
Kirstin Leigh	...	Hope
Audrey Lowe	...	Dora
Brady Fischer	...	Rudy
Melissa Di Meglio	...	50's Scream Queen (as Melissa Joy Rasmussen)
Paul Di Meglio	...	50's Monster
Michael Lassig	...	Otek the Mighty

Also Known As:

Box of Doom (USA) (working title)
The Dark Hours (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:18

Filming Locations:

Idyllwild, California, USA

The (Evil) Deadfall

In watching this I kept trying to figure out if this was meant to be a parody or a tribute to The Evil Dead, and in reading another's comments I guess it was meant to be some kind of homage, so I guess I'll go with that. The parallels are pretty darn close though, so it's hard to say what was intended. Whole scenes seem to be lifted directly from The Evil Dead, but then there's silly stuff like one guy grabbing an electric hedge trimmer to go after one of his possessed friends, only to have the plug pop out of the wall socket before he can do any damage. And instead of killer trees in the forest, we have killer leaves that pile up on one young lady, which is actually one of the better effects. One young lady tries to remind her possessed boyfriend of the necklace he bought her, and pulls it out of her blouse, but it's never shown closely enough to see if it's a magnifying glass! Despite the very obvious references to the Evil Dead, I still managed to find this very watchable, and they have everything down right to the look of the film, considering they were made so many years apart. Take modern technology and make it look old, now THAT's the ticket. I guess this is much better if you don't take it at face value, and don't think of it as a rip-off, and just sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm actually surprised Mr. Raimi hasn't gone after the makers of this film, though.