Dead Weight

Director(s) - Adam Bartlett and John Pata (Better off Undead)
Starring - Joe Belknap, Mary Lindberg, and Michelle Courvais (A Haunted House)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror/Drama
Tagline - "Learn to let it go"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     This year has been an amazing one for me.  I started writing for this amazing site and met many great men and women who love the genre as much as I do.  I have also learned a lot about various horror conventions from these same individuals. I heard about a horror and exploitation convention known as Cinema Wasteland and wanted so bad to go.  However, my work schedule prohibited me from attending.  As I sat around after work the days following the convention, a large portion of those people I mentioned earlier started posting pictures and videos of the films they picked up.  One instantly caught my eye and made me wanna see it.  That film was Dead Weight.  I searched around and found a good bit of reviews for the film but could not find the proper site to order the flick. I found their Facebook page and sent them a message.  He informed me that the site has already reviewed the film but would love to send me a copy to review anyway.  For that I thank you very much.
      The film follows a young man and a rag tag group of survivors he has aligned himself with as he fights his way through a barren wasteland filled with infected to reach his girlfriend.  The two were seperated when his girlfriend took a job away from him before the outbreak happened.  He has been lying to his fellow survivors in order for them to help him reach his destination.  His deceitful actions catches up to him when he hits a girl he is with in the leg with a bat and leaves her behind for the infected to feast on.  When he finally reaches his destination and is reunited with his lost love he discovers that the girl lived and a man from the settlement where his girlfriend is witnessed the entire ordeal.  After spending only moments with his love he is tossed from the settlement where his heartbreak breaks his will to survive and he is eaten alive by the infected.
     Some movies should not be judged by their trailers.  After messaging the Facebook page and getting a reply back I ventured over to Youtube and searched around till I found the trailer for the film.  After watching the film I was concerned that the film would actually be boring and filled with just as boring dialogue.  However, I was wrong to think that because this movie is far from boring.  This movie follows the same path as The Walking Dead television adaptation where the characters main concern are actually other survivors instead of the infected.  Unlike TWD, this film kills the annoying douchebags instead of making us watch them longer than we have to.  Anyway, as for the film, we are treated to great acting.  I have reviewed a large number of independent films but none have acting on the same level as this film.  The entire cast does an amazing job and I thought they surely had acting experience in the past.  I did a little looking and discovered that this is actually most of the casts first and only film.  That is a damn shame because this cast is truly amazing and make this film easy to watch.  The story is honestly nothing special but the cast and crew makes the film enjoyable which makes up for the originality.  Finally, the special effects are non-existent.  We do get a few bloody kills on camera but they are really not that spectacular or amazing.  The true highlight of the film is the acting and how the story is portrayed on film.  The film is honestly entertaining from beginning to end even without the kills and special effects horror fans love.  Overall, this is a very story driven film that will will keep you watching from beginning to end.  This one is destined to be a cult classic and I highly recommend it.