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*** May contain spoilers ***

The Film That Came Back From The Dead

A Customer from London, 29th April, 2009

Finally we have the chance to see That Deadwood Feeling, a quirky darkly comic Brit flick thriller. I say finally because it has taken a long time for this film to make it to audiences. In a strange, 'art imitating life, life then having the last word,' situation, the unthinkable occurred after the film makers wrapped and printed; the negative of the film, simply 'disappeared'... Without a negative the film makers simply couldn't release the movie and have been searching for the print and news of what happened to it ever since. So why can you see it today? Film makers tend to edit on digital, it's cheaper and easier than playing with the negative. The Director and Producer made a digital edit of the film at the time - this is the film that is being released now. Why are they releasing it? Because they are proud of the film, it has some really great performances from the cast - which includes Dexter Fletcher, Jack Davenport and Demetri Goritsas, and features a fantastic guest cameo from David Soul as 'Larry' - they are proud of it and they would like audiences to have the opportunity to see it, at least on the small screen. There's a short documentary on the DVD about the making of the film and another about the 'unmaking' of the film, where the Director and Producer discuss just what happened and how devastating it was. I highly recommend these documentaries; they're fascinating and add another dimension to the film, which is in itself a surreal Russian doll of a movie. So what is the film itself about? It's about 3 friends, all working on the fringes of the movie industry who want to make it big. They want to be players - and Larry (David Soul) is their role model (the Larry segments are fantastic, some great scenery chewing and some endlessly quotable dialogue here). The only problem is, not one of them has any clue about how to make a movie. Then they stumble upon 'that actor guy' (cult director Richard Stanley, best known for being fired from the Island of Dr Moreau and for the film Dust Devil) who offers them up his life, and a film plot, on a plate. The only problem is, it's a horror story and life is starting to imitate art. Or is it....? I really enjoyed this film, loads of industry in-jokes, and I still find myself quoting the odd line or two. Ok, it's not going to win Oscars, but it's a film that deserved cinema distribution and an audience. It may not get the former, but at long last it has the opportunity for the latter.

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