Short Horror

DWCommuter

This film may have been flagged here before, but its nearing completion of post production. Here are some stills from it and the trailer can be viewed at the link below.

deadweed snap1.jpg

deadweed snap3.jpg

deadweed snap5.jpg

deadweed snap6.jpg

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUN33IfB2NE

Deadweed is a short horror film about the night a family secret is revealed. Its not a zombie flick or gorefest. Its a good old fashioned horror that mixes aspects of the genre, such as the supernatural, Slasher, ghoul, into a neat little story.
More details can be found on our website, which is listed in my sig. The film is destined for various short film festivals, Propellor TV and finally online after all avenues have been exhausted.

craze7

Nice trailer man very well put together, what the running time on the finished film?

DWCommuter

Thanks for that.

The finished film rolls in at 17mins. We'll have a "making of" featurette online soon.

craze7

17min it will have to be good!!! fingers crossed lol

Also what was your budget or did u have one?

DWCommuter

craze7 wrote: »

17min it will have to be good!!! fingers crossed lol

Also what was your budget or did u have one?

Cash budget came in at approx. €500. We had all the gear and post production equipment. Actors, small crew and others, worked for free, so the cash element was the only outlay. In terms of the freebies, if they were charged, we'd be looking at a budget of around €4,000.

craze7

good stuff, keep us posted!

DWCommuter

The official first review of DEADWEED by Patrick Thomson.

Deadweed review:
On the well chosen evening of Friday the 13th I was invited to the premiere of Derek Wheelers short film Deadweed. As I walked out to the smoking area to greet Derek a black cat walked past. I was told there was a making of playing in the screening room and was presented with a promo image of the film and info packs on the film. This is of course not the point but I am trying to set the scene and help you understand this, that Derek and his co conspirator, Niall Hetherington, are dedicated to delivering on both presentation and content, they're really focused on their audience.
To be honest I wasn’t sure what the film would be like on my way out. I knew the film was micro budget and wasn’t sure what it would be like. A lot of micro budget shorts are the sort of amateurish stuff you find on youtube, the sort of stuff thrown out by people who should really try and learn more about the craft of filmmaking before they unleash their film on an audience.
I’m not comparing Derek and Nialls excellent little short to these films but im saying how much they stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries.
When the film opens we see a young couple Linda and Michael who with their child in tow are visiting older friend Bob whose lost his wife (who died) and his son (who we learn was abducted). The mood is tense from the beginning with creepy droning score and sound design as we see the older man is falling apart. As the evening progresses we see him flashback to the moment where he lost his son. He tells the couple to get out but as he does he sees that the thing that took his son is outside the house. Without giving too much away lets just say that its an evil creature related to the towns past.
All things considered (the micro budget constrictions under which they worked)this is a really good little short. It looks great, the cinematography and filmmaking style is very impressive and puts it above the usual micro budget rubbish. There is especially great and haunting use of black and white. This short shows that the director knows how to edit and frame and a shot with great skill and style, I especially love the Evil Dead homage! The performances in the film from actors Roisin O Loughlin , Steve Herbert and Pat Halligan are great, they're very convincing and put you right in the story. They have a convincing chemistry that makes you feel like they really know each other (which isn’t suprising considering O Loughlin and Herbert are a couple in real life). My only complaint is that initially I didn’t find it believable that a woman that young would have a son that age. Speaking of the son, Derek seemed to deal with the challenge of working with a child quite well and he isn’t annoying like most child actors. Refreshingly these scenes don’t introduce a twee element like they seem too in a lot of films.
The film is also properly scary at several points with members of the audience screaming at one particularly effective scare. Its subtle with little glimpses of the monster and though there are killings there is no gore- though I may be a gore hound I thought this approach worked well!
The score is great as well, haunting at times with a definite John Carpenter vibe that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As I said before this really sets the mood for the film.
Overall this is a great achievement in micro budget filmmaking, a very good little short and a great calling card for future Hethweel productions.

Having spoken to this guy after the screening, its his honest opinion of it.

craze7

Good Stuff man, i dont expect to see it on youtube then?

DWCommuter

craze7 wrote: »

Good Stuff man, i dont expect to see it on youtube then?

Not for a while yet. Its going to try its luck at a few festivals. I'll keep you posted on any Irish screenings.

DWCommuter

Below is a youtube link to "Making Deadweed". Its an insight to how we made the film. Have a look if you get a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsPfPwMvDSk

DWCommuter

The film is available online for a short period if anyone is interested in having a look.

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16023406jsfYAyNr

DWCommuter

Deadweed has been nominated for the Delta Film Award at the Festival of Fantastic Films in the UK next month.

http://fantastic-films.com/festival/

craze7

i like it man! it didn't feel like 16 minutes, which is good..

Lighting could have been better so could the script, also the acting was a bit bland and way off que... But im glad i watched it so keep up the good work and good luck at the film contest..

P.s at the end when bob was carrying the baby was that a flash back before the baby was taken or did bob leave the baby in the woods to die???

DWCommuter

craze7 wrote: »

i like it man! it didn't feel like 16 minutes, which is good..

Lighting could have been better so could the script, also the acting was a bit bland and way off que... But im glad i watched it so keep up the good work and good luck at the film contest..

P.s at the end when bob was carrying the baby was that a flash back before the baby was taken or did bob leave the baby in the woods to die???

Script - did what it had to do. We never set out to deliver a fantastic story.
Acting - Many would and have disagreed with your particular opinion. Just not here. Off que? I wouldn't be totally sold on that viewpoint. But opinion is what makes us all better next time out.
Lighting - Considering the enormity of the task, lighting set ups were minimal. A mainstream audience don't care and thats what we want to see this film.

Bob left the baby "in the woods" to be collected by Hartely. He was delivering kids to him in a bid to get his own kid back.

Great to get this kind of feedback. For us Deadweed was experimental in terms of shooting, editing and doing good sound design work. Its a "big" production in terms of micro budget short horrors, so obviously some areas will suffer more than most. But its getting great reaction from festival selection committees because its a little different in how its made up.

Festival version is a little longer and a slightly different cut.

craze7

By off que i ment the actors looked like they had to think about what to do next, it could have been a bit more fluid but i guess when your shooting a low to no budget film they don't have much time for script reads together..

Again, i like the film and i admire what yous are doing. Keep it up..

P.s this board is dead, you should post it on some other film forums/sites too...

DWCommuter

Ah gotcha now. Yeah we didn't rehearse before location work as 2 of the actors were late replacements so it was a case of gettin to know you and the script on set.

And your right about this forum. What happened to it?