By now, most of you know that I’m a huge fan of low/no budget films and just about anything independent. I will always rate a bad independent film more favorably than a bad studio film. If big name actors like, say, Adam Sandler or Al Pacino make an awful movie about some shitty twin love connection, that’s not ok. You expect better from years worth of experience and millions of dollars invested. You don’t expect a rap song about goddamn coffee and 15 minute poop jokes. However, if one guy and a small group of his friends make a movie of questionable quality, you’re more likely to be ok with it.
Tonight I watch Deatherman, the story of a weatherman who just wants a little respect.
Also, murder.
Deatherman is the story of Dolton Law, a small-town Weatherman just trying to live his life and make a name for himself. Like every man, he has aspirations, enemies, and he lusts after interns. This all changes when, roughly half an hour into the movie, Dolton’s personality changes completely and the intern murders him. After burying the body, an overnight shower of acid rain brings Dolton back to life as the Deatherman, who vows revenge on the woman that killed him and pretty much everyone else he’s ever met.
The movie starts out a little slow, with a majority of the action (murders) taking place in the last 30 minutes of the film. At one point, there is a 15 second (I counted) close up of a bird in a cage. However, there are definitely parts that made me laugh. At one point, Dolton is getting heckled by a drunk guy in a bar, and he yells at him, “Tonight’s forecast; you’re getting your fucking ass kicked!” There’s even a lovely pimp named Coyote, who literally keeps his hookers in a trashcan out back. Towards the end, there is a scene in a restaurant, and a chef is chopping vegetables and just keeps repeating “I’m a chef, I’m a chef”.
The movie itself was filmed with what appears to be a handheld camcorder, America’s Funniest Videos-style. The camera’s built-in mic doesn’t always do the best job of picking up voices of characters that are further away, so after you’ve turned it up to hear, you’ll have to turn it back down when the next scene starts and it’s super loud.
Deatherman is definitely a little rough around the edges. It could have benefited from a tripod, as well as an external mic. The story has pacing issues, and the acting is a bit ham-fisted at times.
That being said, however, Deatherman still has that “B-Movie charm” a lot of us have grown to love. I’m willing to look through the flaws at the beauty that is underneath. Namely, a weatherman that kills everyone he gets near because one crazy intern decided to murder him and play in his blood.
If you’re interested in Deatherman, go to their Facebook Page and say hello.
