DVD Review: ‘SHADOWLAND’

Independent filmmakers have always had a hard time getting the film community to notice smaller films amidst the bigger budget studio pictures. Besides your typical budget restraints when making an independent film, the director also must tackle the difficulties of simply getting the film released so that audiences can see their vision. One of these independent films I am referring to is Shadowland. Here, you will not find huge Michael Bay explosions or large orchestrated battles with vampires as seen in other films. Yet, what you will find is a director using the means he has at his disposal to tell a story that he feels passionate about.

Shadowland begins in 1897 when a gang of villagers kill and bury a pretty young girl for unknown reasons. Flashing forward to present day, we see the young girl, Laura, awaken from her burial ground after an absent minded construction worker removes a stake from the ground. While Laura struggles to regain her recollection of her previous life in this strange new world, we are introduced to Julian. Working as a vampire hunter for the church, Julian sets out to find Laura and put her back in the ground which she came.

Through a series of reveals, Wyatt Weed has crafted an interesting story that slowly unfolds throughout the film. Quite early on, the viewer becomes aware that Laura (played by the beautiful Caitlin McIntosh) is a vampire. There is no real mystery regarding that (even the DVD cover reveals that). Instead, Weed focuses more on the journey of this woman. Seen as an innocent and unfortunate creature (think Frankenstein monster), Laura is simply trying to survive in an unknown environment. Though the film is certainly in the horror genre, it comes across as a Bourne Identity style film. Besides Laura regaining her memory, the chase going on between Laura and Julian is the main crux of the story. Those expecting a full-blown vampire film might be slightly disappointed. Shadowland is more interested in showing a different side of the vampire story: The struggle to find Laura’s human side.

Jason Contini, who plays Julian, and Caitlin McIntosh both give energetic performances. Though at times they tend to stray in the overacting category, they both flesh out interesting characters that propel the film. Besides the great “Gothic horror” opening sequence, early on the audience is treated to a well staged fight sequence between a vampire and Julian in a dark alley. The action does hit a standstill after that while you learn the history of Laura and her unfortunate turning. The ending though does deliver an exciting and satisfying closure to the film. One of my favorite aspects of the film is the universe that Wyatt Weed has created surrounding Julian’s character. Throughout the film, Julian uses a variety of “old-world” artifacts and techniques to discover Laura’s whereabouts. One of which involves an old compass and a vampire tooth on a string. Another example is a patch of Earth in a box that dries up and dies when evil is around. It is creative ideas like this that sets Shadowland in its own vampire universe. I only wish the film could have explored these elements and the church’s vampire-hunting organization a bit more.

Shadowland works with its meager budget to craft a story that puts a spin on the traditional vampire film. It is clear from the start of the film, that the budget on this film was tremendously limited. This is even more evident when you hear the interviews with the cast and crew on the special features on the DVD. In a lot of ways, the DVD extra features actually enhance your watching of the film. The DVD kicks off with an introduction by the director explaining the MPAA rating for the film; which is R. His explanation further explains the problems of distributing an independent film. Next, there is about a dozen deleted and extended scenes. Most of these are throw-aways, but one shows an alternative opening that is partially used at a later part of the film. The final three things on the DVD really make for an interesting watch and add to one another. First up is the commentary. Wyatt Weed is clearly a technical director. The majority of this commentary pertains to the technical side but also delves into many of the St. Louis locations that were used for the filming. “Beneath the Soil,” is an in-depth 29 minute behind the scenes featurette on the making of the film. One of the things that I learned from this that I found incredible, was how young many of the crew were when they worked on it. The director of photography was about 23 and the make-up department was a young girl who looked to be about 18. Knowing these facts, makes you appreciate what they achieved in this film that much more. The final feature on the DVD is called “Low Tech and Hands On.” This 15 minute segment is extremely informative for people wanting to start out in the film business. Using simple techniques, Wyatt shows how you can create the illusion of an old 1870’s street or the appearance of a shallow grave. He goes through every special effect in the film and educates you on how they were able to achieve what they did with very little money. I can’t say enough about how cool this segment was.

Though Shadowland may not be able to hold a torch to the look and blood/gore of the Resident Evil films or Saw films, you realize that the director doesn’t want to. Instead he is more interested in telling a human story with roots in the horror genre. The low-budget quality of the film does show at times while watching, but what is more evident is a unique vision and twist on the traditional vampire mythology.