Deadlands: The Rising (2006)

Director:

Gary Ugarek

Writer:

Gary Ugarek (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The world as we know it... Is coming to an end!

Plot:

October 2008. A biochemical weapon explosion causes a freak chain of events and brings the dead back to life. It is up to five people to make a stand for survival against an ever growing army of the Living Dead. |

Plot Keywords:

Cannibalism | Baltimore Maryland | Zombie Uprising | Terror Attack | Invasion

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dave Cooperman	...	Dave
Gary Ugarek	...	Gary
Michelle Wright	...	Michelle
Brian Wright	...	Brian
Connor Brandt	...	Connor
Melisa Breiner-Sanders	...	Evacuee Woman
Josh Davidson	...	Josh
Jeremy Paris	...	Arguing Man #2
Chris L. Clark	...	Suit Zombie (as Chris Clark)
Nathan Rosen	...	#11 Zombie
Brian Marinelli	...	Private Marinelli
Bruce Morgan	...	Commanding Military Officer
Tom Gambrill	...	Shelter Director (FEMA)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Abel	...	National Guardsmen #3
Patty Aiello	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Williams Albers	...	Zombie
Alex Alcaro	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Ray Allen	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Michael Anderson	...	Zombie
Michael Arenas	...	Zombie
Robert Arnold	...	Evacuee
Bartlett Ashley	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Scott Ayles	...	National Guardsmen #5
Angelique Baker	...	Zombie
Julie Bakken	...	Traffic Jam Victim
Rebecca Baranovic	...	Zombie
Johnathan Barringer	...	Zombie
Dylan Bateman	...	Zombie
Judith Bausch	...	Zombie
Johnny Benson	...	Zombie
Anne Bet	...	Zombie
Thomas A. Beveridge	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Duane Bizet	...	Zombie
Allison Booth	...	Zombie
Leslie Bowen	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Tina Boyle	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Lisa Brandt	...	Evacuee
Lena Brisland	...	Shelter assistant
Kiana Brown	...	Evacuee / Zombie
James Bryant	...	Zombie
Tom Buchner	...	Shelter Zombie
Ken Bulcroft	...	National Guardsmen #6
Kurtis Bulk	...	Zombie
Suzanne Busch	...	Zombie
Corie Campbell	...	Teenage girl zombie
Kim Campbell	...	Traffic jam evacuee
Stacie Canterbury	...	Traffic Jam Evacuee
Steve Canterbury	...	Traffic Jam Evacuee
Melanie Canter	...	Traffic Jam Evacuee
Kevin Ceely	...	Zombie
Alan Cervantos	...	Zombie
Anthony Clark	...	Zombie
Jessica Clark	...	Zombie
Julian Comando	...	Zombie
Kate Connell	...	Zombie
Angela Conrad	...	Zombie
Westley Costanzo	...	Evacuee
Katrina Currie	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Sharon Curtis	...	Evacuee
Master June Daguiso	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Dennis David	...	Zombie
Alexa Davidson	...	Child Evacuee
Nicholas Davidson	...	Child Evacuee
Matt Decata	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Jason Deyo	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Pedro Diaz
Julie Dieguez	...	Zombie
Pedro Dieguez	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Brittanie Dighello	...	Zombie
T.J. Dighello	...	Zombie
Troy Dighello	...	House Zombie
Alanna Dillon	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Jessica Dulin	...	Zombie
Brian Dziki	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Brandon Farace	...	Traffic jam evacuee
Greg Ferko	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Heather Ferko	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Kevin Foster	...	National Guardsmen #4
Gary Fuller	...	Zombie
Taylor Gosnell	...	Zombie
Hubert Gray	...	Man on Cell Phone #1
George Hallameyer	...	Zombie
Nicole Hartline	...	Zombie
William Hussey	...	Zombie
Kelly Jackson	...	Zombie
Julian Kelly	...	Zombie girl
Drew Kinohi	...	Zombie
Jacob LeDoux	...	Zombie
Paul Little	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Cindy Marie Martin	...	Throat Tear Victim / Throat Tear Zombie
Lonnie Martin	...	Drooling Zombie
Philip J. Martin	...	National Guardsmen #2
Jay Mason	...	Zombie
Pat McGrudde	...	Zombie
Ashley Merson	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Jessica Miller	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Nikki Lee Miller	...	Arguing Female (SUV)
Kenneth Moli	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Michael Morrison	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Josh Morrow	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Kim Myers	...	Evacuee
Rich Neal	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Clara Pilgrom	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Terry Pilgrom	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Ken Pinto	...	Zombie
Jame 'Matt' Poole	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Christina Potze	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Duane Raynor	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Shauna Raynor	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Courtnie Reynolds	...	Lost girl (traffic Jam)
Mark Reynolds	...	Zombie
Uriah Robins	...	Zombie
Antonio Rodriguez	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Jesse Rommel	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Brian Rowe	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Erika Rukiel	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Patricia Sailia	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Clinton Santos	...	Evacuee / Zombie
Aaron Shirley	...	Traffic Jam Victim
Justin Smith	...	Arguing Man (SUV)
Matthew T. Smith	...	Green Flannel Zombie (as Matthew Smith)
Brooke Stevens	...	Teenage girl zombie
Jesse Terry	...	Traffic Jam Victim
Victoria Terry	...	Lead Female Zombie - Traffic Jam
Jen Tonon	...	Concerned Citizen (Extra)
May Ugarek	...	Evacuee
Jeremy Warman	...	Attack Victim (Pick-up truck)
Ted Weber	...	Zombie
Jeff Wiggington	...	Cowboy Zombie

Also Known As:

Deadlands (USA) (working title)
Deadlands Episode #1: The Rising (USA) (informal title)

Runtime:

USA:72 min (theatrical version) | USA:63 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Remix for video release) | Stereo (original)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Wetnwildradio Films

Trivia:

The original production budget started at $5,000 and was originally to be a short film. After filming most of the traffic jam sequences. The director invested another $10,000 to purchase more equipment and secure more locations to expand the story.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When actor Brian wright gets out of the car to inspect the traffic jam in the wideshot he looks up the road in the direction he came from and his lips move but no audio is heard.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michelle: [narration] Six Months, that's how long it took for the world as we knew it to come to an end. The bible preached the world would end in fire and war. It ended in plauges and hunger. All brought on by the technology built to protect us. Conventional Weapons weren't enough, we built more powerful weapons. Weapons capable of spreading disease, plagues or hunger, weapons designed to do the un-imaginable... and in the end, it took one man with one weapon.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in I Am Zombie Man (2007)

Soundtrack:

Opening Credits

So bad it's almost insulting

Let me start by saying this: if you liked this movie, good for you but please don't think that I don't "get it" simply because I didn't like it. No...I get it, and it still sucks out loud.

This film is a rarity for me. It actually made me angry that I sat through all of it. Most bad horror movies I can simply shrug off with a simple "man, that was terrible", but not this one. Even accompanied by a liberal amount of alcohol and a very healthy suspension of disbelief I still think this is truly just an awful movie. Why? Numerous reasons.

First of all, giving some "actors" some white grease paint for their faces and black around the eyes doesn't make a zombie. I realize you do what you can on a small budget, but if your zombies look like they're straight off of a Misfits album cover, just stop there. Hell, leave their faces alone and just smear fake blood on them. Trust me, it's a better effect. And that little disclaimer at the beginning of the film with something about the movie being violent and disturbing...get rid of that. Nobody likes a liar. The only person who would find this disturbing is *maybe* an 8 year old...but kids are so screwed up today even that's a stretch.

Then there's the script, acting, and direction. All well below par for any movie, indie or not. The actors throughout the entire film looked like someone with a shy bladder thinking "don't watch me! I can't do it when you watch me!". I imagine they may have been half way convincing off screen, but as soon as someone said action they just froze and delivered some of the most mundane, bland dialogue I have ever seen. The story was equally flawed...leaving much of the background information out of the film. I suppose I could knock the production values and minor technical crap like that, but it's an indie movie after all and you make do with what you can afford.

The pluses to this movie? It's only 60 minutes long so your suffering will be limited. And...well...that's about it. If you really want to watch a bad zombie movie that's at least funny bad, go watch Death Metal Zombies. Skip this junk.