Deadwalkers is a rockem, sockem Zombie Western!

I should start off by saying that Deadwalkers is a fun film. You can see that a lot of care and love went into it. Lots of people working, for probably not a lot of money, got together and made, what is essentially a feature film in a very small package. Its taut, fast, violent and fun, but it isn't perfect.

The story starts right off, as a Bounty Hunter named Jack Link is bringing two men into town to collect on a bounty. As soon as he arrives, however, something is wrong with both the town and its citizens, as they start attacking, and trying eat, Jack and the men he's bringing in. After a few a gun shots, bullet holes, and splattered Zombie heads, Jack and a surviving bounty find refuge in a boarded up Saloon where they run into the last of the towns uninfected survivors. What happens next is the classic "group of mismatched people forced together to fight a common enemy" Zombie fightin' scenario.

The dialogue is noticeably hard boiled, with Jack spurting tough guy lines through a clinched cigar or clinched teeth for most of the movie. I like the sets also, The film was shot in Calgary, Alberta on a western town used for movie shoots. The inside of the saloon was beautiful, with Tin-Tiled walls and

I did have a few problems with the film however.

I thought the Zombie make up was too cartoonish, The main Zombie bad guy, the Town's Sheriff, has almost clown white make-up on his face, I can see what they were trying to do with it, but I didn't really like the way it looked...In the picture for this article, the makeup actually doesn't look half bad, but in the film.....not so good...Other characters have a more subtle form of Zombie makeup and I would have preferred to see that encompass all of the Zombie characters. They also use digital blood, which isn't really a problem...but there is one decapitation that looks very cheesy and VERY video effect-y.

Also, this film wants to be HUGE, its at least a half hour or 45 minutes worth of story trapped in a 12 minute short film, its almost too short. Parts of it feel rushed and then its over. I'm sure budget was a factor in the length, and they needed to get the film made within an allotted production schedule, but I would have loved to see it breathe a little more.

Don't let my pet peeves sway you off giving Deadwalkers a try, though. I did really enjoy it, and if you are looking for a fun short fast moving Zombie Western, this just might be what you are looking for!

I was under the impression that you could get it through iTunes, however I haven't been able to find it on the site....If I hear anything about availability Ill let you guys know!

UPDATE: From Greg Jeffs, Producer of Deadwalkers: The iTunes release is in October 2010 to kick off Halloween week, it'll coincide with a UK, US and Canadian broadcast.