“DEADEN” (2006)

Starring: John Fallon, Deke Richards, Claudia Jurt, Neil Napier, Kevin Kelsall, Carmen Echeverria, Berge Garabedian & Heidi Hawkins
Written by John Fallon (story and screenplay) & Christian Viel (story)
Directed by Christian Viel
Official Website
Movie Seals
Arrow in the Head

Polly Staffle Rating: ****

“While seeking revenge, dig two graves - one for yourself.” - Doug Horton

Rane is the perfect killing machine. With this guy, everything is do or die. His solider mentality is the reason he has become the perfect cop. Going undercover to infiltrate a gang of outlaws, he becomes the prefect criminal. Unable to balance both worlds, Rane turns in his badge. Actually, he throws it in a mud puddle, but you get my point.

When his new crew discovers his past, they turn against him. Rane watches helplessly as they destroy his world. They rape and kill the love of his life. They abort the couple’s unborn baby. They shoot an arrow through his head, dump him in a river and leave him to die.

But as any fan of revenge cinema knows, Rane doesn’t stay dead. He rises for tenfold vengeance. Not only does Rane look to settle the score with the guilty, he seeks retribution from anybody and everybody, including himself. This is the setup for Christian Viel’s no-holds-barred, two eyes-for-an-eye bloodbath “Deaden.” The Canadian filmmaker once feared the low-budget project would be too violent to get distribution in the United States, but thanks to Maverick Entertainment - who also released his “RECON 2020” - American eyes should get a look at this action-packed baseball bat to the head in all its glory this summer. Stealing one of the film’s taglines, all I can say is, “It’s gonna hurt.” Brutal doesn’t begin to describe this film that’s part comic book, part homage and one hundred percent twisted. Loaded with extreme graphic violence, nudity and drug use and abuse, “Deaden” goes for the jugular early and doesn’t let up till the end credits roll.

Genre aficionado and internet film critic John Fallon, otherwise known as “Arrow in the Head,” is our fearless anti-hero Rane. Fallon, who also penned the screenplay, dusts off the old Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger characters of the “Cobra” and “Commando” days to lead us on this rage-filled trip to hell and back. He shows he isn’t just some fan boy, but instead is a cinematic presence that is capable of a lot more than the two-bit cameos (“Saw II,” “Alone in the Dark,” “Rollerball”) he usually gets stuck with. Forget The Rock and Vin Diesel; Fallon is the next great action star audiences have been looking for.

Rane is no superhero though. It’s not about good or bad with this guy. It’s more if you aren’t with him, you’re against him and since the only person with him is a short-lived partner in crime Kersey (Deke Richards), everyone else is screwed. In any other movie, Rane would be the villain we rooted to get snuffed out in horrible fashion. He bullies, beats up, maims and kills all in his path, whether his foes are females, old acquaintances or every day civilians like hospital orderlies or cops. And these aren’t just your every day beat downs and murders. He does some really nasty things. Rane forces a woman to eat glass, shoves a pool stick up a man’s butt and through the other side and burns another victim alive. But through the rage, Fallon is able to make us sympathize with Rane. Fallon somehow pulls off likeable without ever uttering a single catch phrase like “take it to another level” or discussing how good bacon and pork chops taste. He doesn’t charm us with his good looks in that Bruce Willis or Denzel Washington sort of way and there are no high flying shootout or slice and dice antics that scream cool like in Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi Trilogy” or Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.”

I can’t really put my finger on it, but perhaps the main reason I’m able to relate to Rane is the film’s lack of mean spiritedness, which is present in so many movies (“Hostel,” “Hills Have Eyes,” “Saw III”) these days. Rane doesn’t revel in any of the killings; in fact, he doesn’t necessarily enjoy what he’s doing at all. He may crack a smirk now and again, but for the most part, he’s just doing what he feels needs to be done. He also does it with absolute disregard for his own well being. Popping pain killers like they’re M&M’s and snorting cocaine like his name is Tony Montana, Rane stops existing as a human and becomes an unstoppable force of justice.

Of course, not all credit can be given to Fallon. Viel’s directing and top notch editing helps our understanding of Rane in many ways. Not only does it serve well with flashbacks to fill in Rane’s back story, it also gets the viewer inside the head of this likeable monster. Viel uses trippy camera work reminiscent of “Requiem for a Dream,” clips of glowing black and white footage, various colored filters and insanely quick edits and jump cuts to completely set the film’s mood and temperament of hostility and sadness.

Viel uses a letterboxed film noir opener to get viewers on Rane’s side instantly. Our introduction to this killing machine is actually the end of his story. He sits alone in a strip bar and places a gun to his head. Without knowing anything else about him, we realize this is a man without a will to live that has perhaps suffered so severely that he longs for the ultimate numbness. This is followed by the brutality of Rane’s world being turned upside down, which is perhaps the film’s hardest scene to take. By tapping into our emotions with these early moments, Viel forces viewers to leave logic behind and completely give in to Rane’s world.

When “Deaden” was in postproduction last June, Viel did a Q&A with PollyStaffle.com and said he felt revenge stories appeal to “an inner fantasy in all of us.” “We all have been wronged at some point and wished we could make everybody pay,” Viel said. “The vigilante flicks give us the opportunity to live this fantasy vicariously without fear of the consequences, which would normally happen in society.”

Ironically, Viel closes his film with a Bruce Lee-esque finale that brings the viewer back to reality, giving “Deaden” a whole morality aspect most Hollywood-ized revenge movies don’t have. The ending sealed the deal for me and also made me feel even more for Rane. Vigilante justice is a fun theme in movies, but often it is said to glamorize violence and perpetuates the ideology of revenge killing. But nothing could be further from the truth here. If anything, it shows violence in retaliation for violence doesn’t set wrongs right, but instead turns the suffering victim into a self destructing soulless menace that, one way or another, does pay for the consequences of their actions.

Viel and Fallon first came up with the idea for “Deaden” over a few rounds of beer after mutual disappointment with Jonathan Hensleigh’s “The Punisher.” The plan was to cut through the silliness and cheesiness of Lions Gates’ $33 million box office flop and unleash a purely visceral violent ode to not only their beloved comic book character, but the vigilante genre in general. The duo did just that, delivering a tale of revenge that is on par with classics “I Spit On Your Grave,” “Get Carter” and “The Crow.” But in many ways, I feel “Deaden” is more than that. At the time they wrote this screenplay, both Viel and Fallon were frustrated with past dealings they had with studios and producers. Fallon had a project dropped after over a year of being in development hell and Viel’s first movie that was about to be widely released - “Evil Breed” - was mutilated worse than Jenna Jameson’s character is in the gorefest. Perhaps their frustration is part of the reason this film is so brutal and in your face or maybe I am reading too much into it.

All I know is film critics have been getting a bad rap in the world of entertainment for quite a long time. Often they are depicted as talentless hacks that pick apart everyone else’s work because secretly they are failed wannabe filmmakers. Okay, so maybe the wannabe part is true. Regardless, after being poked fun at in Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Rejects” and being viciously attacked by an animal in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Lady in the Water,” it was great to see a real film critic kicking ass in “Deaden.” Perhaps part of Fallon’s pent up anger as a critic helped fuel the fire. If so I’d like to dish out some insults to aid his next project, but sadly I’ve got nothing but praise.

NAME GAME

The original title for “Deaden” was “Pain Killer.” But DreamCatcher Interactive - the makers of a video game “PainKiller” - claimed to have had first dibs on the movie title. The end credits give a “BIG FUCK YOU” to DreamCatcher for “intensive corporate bullying.” Ironically, Deaden just so happens to be the name of an underground death metal band that’s been around since 1992. You might remember them as the group that brought you head banging classics such as “Ejaculation to a Rotting Orifice,” “Subconscious Holocaust,” “Lying in a Ditch,” “Butchered Whore,” “Only Genitals Remain” and “Perverted Fecal Embodiment” or not. … Also in the credits, John Fallon gives a special thanks to “Sylvester Stallone for the inspiration.” … Fellow film critic Berge Garabedian aka JoBlo pops up in a cameo as A Man Named Joe. He appears near the end of the film as a drug dealer with a matchstick in his teeth and says “You got the money?” before being killed. ... Underground filmmakers Maurice Devereaux (“$LA$HER$”) and Sv Bell (“She-Demons of the Black Sun”) get the crap beat out of them by Rane in quick appearances. … Though this film may not have too many female fans, if there are any out there, stick around till the end of the credits. Actor Ray Cocomello, who has his clothes stolen by Rane in a sly Harrison Ford “Star Wars”/“Raiders of the Lost Ark” sort of way, wakes up in an alley naked. … Fallon’s character takes his name from William Devane’s Major Charles Rane in “Rolling Thunder” and Deke Richards character is named after Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey of “Death Wish.” … In a police station scene, the camera pans briefly past mug shots on a bulletin board. Showing his true love of horror, Fallon asked various genre personalities to contribute photos to be most-wanted criminals. Included in the batch are Fangoria editor Tony Timpone, Rue Morgue editor Jen Vuckovic, original screenwriter of “The Hitcher” Eric Red, Wes Craven’s prodigy and “Dracula 2000” director Patrick Lussier, “Hot Wax Zombies on Wheels” director Michael Roush and the guy behind just about every movie based on a video game - the one and only - Uwe Boll.

THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE

Movies aren’t the only form of entertainment serving up the cold dish of revenge. Here are various lyrics that could have been anthems playing in Rane’s head as he went on his rampage:

“You better run out of here. I’ll close my eyes and count to ten and then I’ll come find you. You’re gonna get what you deserve.” - Sean Lennon, “Dead Meat”

“You will get yours. You will get yours. You will get yours!” - Bush, “Cold Contagious”

“No one’s gonna take me alive. The time has come to make things right.” - Muse, “Knights Of Cydonia”

“I ain’t a killa but don’t push me. Revenge is like the sweetest joy next to gettin’ pussy.” - 2Pac, “Hail Mary”

“This is for every time you took my orange juice, or stole my seat in the lunchroom and drank my chocolate milk... every time you tipped my tray and it dropped and spilt.
I’m gettin you back bully! Now once and for good.” – Eminem, “Brain Damage”

“If you’re troubled and hurt, what you got under your shirt will make them pay for the things that they did.” My Chemical Romance, “Teenagers”

“She held Wanda’s hand as they worked out a plan and it didn’t take long to decided... That Earl had to die.” - Dixie Chicks, “Goodbye Earl”

“She finally left him. Had enough of her man’s rage. Band-aids covered her scars, she left him bloodied. Beat his ass with a bat, face sunk in like silly putty.” - Papa Roach, “Revenge”

“My sweet revenge will be yours for the taking. It’s in the making, baby.” - System of a Down, “Revenga”

“I’m a cop killer, better you than me. Cop killer, fuck police brutality! Cop killer, I know your family’s grieving. Fuck ‘em! Cop killer, but tonight we get even.” - Body Count, “Cop Killer”

“Well I dug my key into the side of his pretty little supped-up four wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats. I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all four tires, Maybe, next time he’ll think before he cheats.” - Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”

“And every time I scratch my nails down someone else’s back I hope you feel it. Well, can you feel it?” - Alanis Morissette, “You Oughta Know”

“This time I’m for real. My pain can not heal. You will be dead when I’m through.” - silverchair, “Israel’s Son”

“Your butt is mine, gonna tell you right. Just show your face in broad daylight.” - Michael Jackson, “Bad”

- CCF, Februray 2007