Dark Meridian (2017)

A corrupt New Orleans detective gets caught up in a fight between two criminal gangs while on a stake out. To survive the night, he must find a killer on the run and take him out before the killer reaches his other targets.

Director:

Rankin Hickman

Writer:

Rankin Hickman

Stars:

Billy Slaughter, Dave Davis, James Moses Black

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Slaughter	...	Patrick Fox
Dave Davis	...	Tevi Marek
James Moses Black	...	Detective Spencer Soleno
Jody Mullins	...	Eddie Pope
Alexander Babara	...	Andrei Bogza
Ronnie Lamarque	...	Oren Marek (as Ronald M. Lamarque)
Paul Rae	...	Coda
Christopher Berry	...	Vic Garvan
David Kallaway	...	Lenny Marek
Oscar Gale	...	Luther Knoss
Clint James	...	Jack Garvan
Deneen Tyler	...	Dot
Dustan Costine	...	Henchmen #1
Walter Mall	...	Henchman #2
Tadasay Young	...	Bartender

Storyline

A corrupt New Orleans detective gets caught up in a fight between two criminal gangs while on a stake out. To survive the night, he must find a killer on the run and take him out before the killer reaches his other targets.

---

Plot Keywords:

killer on the run | brutal hostage interrogation | car scene | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2018 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,800, 11 January 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nbetween Media, Good Fly Productions, Panta Rei Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Surprisingly fun and entertaining little gem of a film

Known primarily (as per his IMDb resume) as 'Miscellaneous Crew' in the film industry, his first time attempt as Writer and Director - Rankin Hickman produced a surprisingly fun and entertaining little gem of a film! I would have never guessed this was his first attempt as director, as he was on point with all the camera shots/angles and captured the scenes quite well and certainly directed his actors to portray their characters perfectly... better than some seasoned directors in recent films I've seen.

Sure, this type of story has been done many times before, but considering this was Hickman's writing and directorial debut, this is one of the better ones, clearly produced on a budget with no huge Hollywood backing. It even has a nice unexpected twist.

All the actors gave very solid performances, especially James Moses Black, who was very convincing as Detective Spencer Soleno. Even novice film actor Dave Davis as the youngest Marek gave a solid performance. I don't think either of these actors were leads in any major film production before this film (mainly TV shows, extras and short films) and deserve the credit for their performances.

Granted, this is by no means some big budget Hollywood production with A-list actors, but I was still just as entertained.

I really don't have any negative critique for this film, maybe the pace a little slow at times, but the decent score made it vaguely noticeable. The plot had some small issues, but again, this was still very well done for a first-attempt writer.

It's refreshing to see up-and-coming talent exploring in new areas of film outside their wheelhouses and succeeding.

Would I see this film again and/or recommend it? Most certainly.

A well deserved 8/10 from me.