No. Stop it. Vibrant country music and survival horror does not mix. Directors and filmmakers, please, don’t do this. If you want to appeal to hillbillies and rednecks, try to keep it based in rural locations and put in terrible techno songs or something, just don’t make it THAT kind of ordeal.
Deadfall Trail is the incredibly inane story of three self-absorbed morons on a challenging mountain hike designed for experts, hardened and experienced adventurers. Consisting of John, Julian and Paul, their goal is to weather the elements in a barren place and persist until the end in a cruel test of stamina. How ironic: this is also the difficulty presented for the viewer.
Virtually immediately, their ridiculously bombastic personalities clash violently, producing a display similar to what you’d see on National Geographic, when animals such as apes or wild dogs lash at each other in a mode of primal competition. No-one seems enthusiastic about intelligence, rationality or planning; their narcissism is only matched by their apparent brainlessness.
The wonderful scenery is marred by the incredible banality, a cheesy script and under average acting. They certainly could work potentially well as secondary characters, with a tougher counterpart to guide them, but by themselves, they don’t generate the humanity to achieve convincing leads. For a tiny cast of a trio, it becomes unbearable, especially with the awful lines they are ordered to deliver.
For a film that plants its flag upon the trial of surviving in the open, the emptiness of exploration or knowledge portrayed is another missed chance. Survivalists are obsessed with technique, creativity, and raw ability in nature. The most advanced thing you’ll get here are simple campfires. Well they attempt a trap for an animal but that fucks up pretty quick and very disastrously. What pros!
What’s worse is the cluttered and over-excitable sound design. The insistence of crickets and birds is initially enveloping, then quickly gets irritating. Though the arrangement is obviously there to encourage an atmosphere, there’s points where the use of silence would have been a stronger choice in order to allow visuals themselves to speak. Then there’s the banjo tracks, and that’s a point we’ve already discussed in every detail it matters.
A brief show of skill is revealed at the approximate mark of 40:00, which is not officially explained, but presumably is the experience of a terrifying psychotic episode brought on by extended isolation. The character appears to be covered in blood, perpetually drowning and fighting in a pool. The aggressive and unpredictable editing is surprisingly striking, leading to a feeling of unreality and disembodiment, and its style is sadly never repeated.
Although the wilderness it portrays is beautiful, this stupid movie is an ugly sonavabitch, offering little in the way of satisfaction and leaving much less. The lack of ideas, poor production and aimless direction is tough enough by 20 minutes in, and almost intolerable by the first third alone. Don’t think like you have anything to prove by missing this one.
2/10
Possession Media 