The Dead Lands (2014)

Sex :
Violence :
Director Toa Fraser
Writers Glenn Standring
Starring James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka
Genre Revenge
Tagline Where the warrior spirit was born
Country
The Dead Lands (2014)

Review

"I have a blackness that comes upon me - where even the God of War would not venture!" - The Warrior

Hongi, the rather sensitive son of the local tribe's chieftain, witnesses a desecration of his ancestor's burial place by visiting warrior Wirepa. Things get worse as Wirepa claims Hongi did the dirty and is going to use this as an excuse to incite war between his own tribe and Hongi's homeboys. Hongi's father fearing the results of open warfare between the two tribes offers to execute Hongi to appease Wirepa's anger. Unfortunately this isn't going to be enough to stop Wirepa going to his own father in his pursuit of flaming the fires of war. Even worse Wirepa and his band of Mohawk haircut Bros descend on Hongi's crib and slaughter everyone. Hongi survives by luck rather than good management and is berated the next day by a chick for being a coward. Naturally this leads our young man to declare vengeance on Wirepa and his band of desperados, but first he is going to need some help on the violence front.

In a taboo area called the Dead Lands (DL) there is apparently a Taniwha, a Monster, and men who journey into the area never come back. In reality a mighty Warrior dwells in the lands with his witch wives, and he is quite happy to kill anyone coming into the DL and doesn't mind resorting to a little bit of cannibalism. Naturally Wirepa and his team are taking a short cut through the DL, because it's faster than walking around, so their days are number, especially since Hongi convinces the Warrior that there is a mutual benefit to be had. Massive violence and mayhem ensue.

Hold onto your linen folks this movie takes you into the dead heart of New Zealand dark fiction, a real Southern Gothic if you like. First the dialogue is completely in Te Reo, the Maori language of Aotearoa (Land of the long white cloud), so if you have problems reading subtitles then this isn't a movie you are going to enjoy. Of course if you speak Te Reo then no problems this movie is for you. Secondly you are going to have to understand something of Maori warfare, utu, and mana to really get where this movie is going. Yes we are talking revenge (utu) and gaining honour, for want of a better word, from those around you including your enemies (mana, though this is way simplified explanation). And yes Maori conflict was ritualised, fixed to the native world around it, and of course pretty damned brutal. During one of the battles in the Maori land wars, i.e. the Crown subduing the locals, Colonial troops ran out of bullets during the siege of a strategic Pa, a fortified village, the defenders quite happily shared their ammunition with their attackers to keep the battle raging. Historically the British and Colonials didn't win the Maori Land Wars by the way, hence the signing of the treaty of Waitangi else New Zealand would have been a very different place today. Okie dokie got enough to be going on with, let's spin this one right round.

Scribe Glenn Standring (Truth About Demons, Perfect Creature) mixes in a few strands from differing genres to get things steaming at just the right temperature. Besides the obvious revenge thread that runs throughout the movie, we get a touch of the fantastic with Hongi's grandma and others chiming in from the beyond, and some pure horror ideas in terms of cannibalism and witches. While some of the characters might be at best drawn in greys it fits in with Maori culture and the whole Once Were Warriors thing. Hongi is naturally out for revenge, but this is more to do with respect for his ancestors and murdered family, and for redemption in the face of his perceived cowardly actions. Wirepa is on the path to personal glory and gaining mana by conducting war against the neighbouring tribe, the honour of the warrior is a big thing in Maori culture. And finally the Warrior has isolated himself after committing a serious crime and pretty much goes against all thoughts of honour, but through his helping Hongi there is a chance that he can finally gain some redemption and the respect of his own ancestors. It's quite a heady mix steeped in Maoridom, themes of honour, and a whole batch of belief in ancestral and mother earth values.

Director Toa Fraser, who has gone on to make a bunch of genre television since this movie, wasn't exactly a name on everyone's lips with his previous three outings being wildly independent Kiwi efforts. Here he shows he has what it takes to handle a big screen budget, and gets the best he can from his cameras, lightening, and cast. There is some absolutely beautifully shot scenery going down, including the flight of Wirepa's crew through an old lava field, and of course the native bush which is always worth an uncle Merv. This is one movie where the action might be kinetic, great chorography during the fight scenes, but the lighting is strong enough that you won't be missing any of the bloodshed. Fraser is solid behind the camera and has his fully Maori cast rocking it hard. The language might not be English but you won't be missing a thing, the Director lets his frames do the talking for him.

While the whole cast are doing their bit to make the movie a success I have to mention James Rolleston (Hongi), who you might have already seen as the titular character in Taika Waititi's 2010 classic Boy, the dude nails the coming of age requirements of his role. Yes another trope from a different style of movie that is stirred into the mix. Rolleston builds from the rather naïve protected son of the local village chief to a warrior who learns how to fight from the most exacting of task masters.

Although I was certainly bopping like a tween chick boy band fan to the beat Foster's movie had going down, there were naturally a few problems that while not totally distracting from the overall effect of the movie are still worthy of mention. Some of the CGI is notable, which is never a good thing, and there are some overly simplistic elements going down. Some more complexity in the plot or characters may have been a good thing, but when push comes to shove we're all here for the action anyways.

Okay having got that tribulation out of the way I should mention some interesting tells I took from the movie, which end of day may or may not be what the Writer and Director intended. During the initial meeting between Hongi's father and Wirepa's ultimate frat party boyz there's almost a medieval feeling to the exchange, though admittedly Wirepa is the barbarian at the gate and Dad is the enlightened world weary leader that simply wants peace. Yes the whole concept of honour is high in this one, which explains Hongi's final actions towards Wirepa, end of day honour demands utu in a never ending cycle. Was it just me or did Wirepa kill his own father in the first scene? The only interpretation I took from the happenings, though I'm open to other viewpoints, and for sure this would underline the complete moral bankruptcy of the character. I also had the feeling that director Fraser was pointing to taboo problems for Wirepa's band of brothers with at least one of them coming down with an extreme case of ma flu, or something similar.

Have watched The Dead Country a number of times without going the full review, hey real world pressures are unrelenting Bro, and got to say enjoyed it once again this time round. The movie does what it sets out to do without messing around trying to be all arty, which is just what you want in your action movie. The pacing is unrelenting and we aren't wasting anytime with any unnecessary detours into themes that have little to no place in a revenge flick. Ultimately director Toa Fraser delivers perhaps the best examination of Maori culture yet in cinema though you would have to be extremely naïve to believe he isn't glossing over some less than savoury aspects. End of day The Dead Lands is probably going to appeal more to male viewers than female viewers but hey so did Predator and no one is holding that against that movie. Recommended guys, worth checking out to get a dose of Kiwiana pre-European style, and hey we get a lot of big dudes whacking each other with various clubs.

ScaryMinds Rates this movie as ...

  A revenge epic out of Kiwiland that hits all the right buttons.