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Cast: Renee O’Connor, Larry Joe Campbell
An inspector (Renee O’Connor) for the Historic Trust visits an abandoned ship on a desolate waterfront. Paula meets up with the self-apppointed caretaker Vigs (Larry Joe Campbell) who blindly made the application for historical status. Moments after her arrival, Paula’s car is disabled and she is far from town and is stuck for the night. Without any particular option, Paula accepts Vigs’ offer to spend the night on the once proud steamship. What follows is a sleepless night of bad dreams and creepy reality.
"Deadrise" is a hard film to talk about because the more you do the the more details you are going to reveal and this is one of those films that is better seen than told about so I will do my best here not to spoil it for those waiting to see it. The story is about Paula who is an inspector for the Historic Trust. She is sent to an abandoned ship to see if it is worth any historic value, she thinks there is no one there but shortly after arriving a piano falls on her car and pretty much destroys it, it was suspended from the ship by a hoist, luckily she escapes danger but she then finds out there is someone else there, a man who claims to be the ship's caretaker. Against her better judgement she decides to spend the night on the ship when Vigs tells her she will not get a ride till morning. Vigs seems like a normal guy at first but after he tells her he applied for the restoration grant himself and that there is no board of directors, a must to receive the grant Paula starts to feel a bit uneasy and his behavior just gets stranger as the night moves along. Paula also begins to have nightmares and thinks she hears things which begins to get under her skin and it makes her restless and on the edge. We see her walking the halls of the ship, seeing and hearing things then she wakes up, is it all in her head or is there something more happening here?
The rest of what happens you are going to have to find out for yourself but I can tell you I found the film to be interesting, shot aboard the historic ship S.S. City of Milwaukee in Manistee Michigan, the ship's run-down look and long hallways give it just the right about of mystery and suspense. Renee O’Connor and Larry Joe Campbell carry the film very well and have great chemistry together but it's Campbell that shines here. He plays Vigs perfectly with all his creepy, over-the-top mannerisms and he brings a nice dose of dark humor as well. If there's one thing that could of made the film better I would say the scenes where Paula is walking the hallways were dragged out a bit too long, shorten those up and the film would of had better flow to it. "Deadrise" is still an entertaining film that blurs the line between what is real and what is imagined. You find yourself fully engaged in the story, waiting and wanting to find out exactly what is bothering Paula so much and you are anxious to see what will become of her. Writer/Director Rich Brauer did a great job at keeping the atmosphere right where it belongs and despite the film's flaws he keeps you glued to the screen the entire time. This is an original Independent, suspense/thriller that is sure to please fan's of the genre. The DVD will be released April 5th, you can visit Osiris Entertainment's web site to watch when the film becomes available for Pre-order HERE.
I really liked the whole idea here and for the most part it was well executed, also another plus here was I never seen the ending coming so it gets bonus points for going where you never expect it to.
Released by Osiris Entertainment
***1/2 Out Of *****