Hey guys! Horrorella here...
Toa Fraser's THE DEAD LANDS is an entertaining and welcome dose of action, and though it doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, it does manage to take a familiar narrative and place it in a fresh and entertaining setting. A revenge premise that has been seen numerous times in Westerns, Hong Kong martial arts flicks and more traditional Hollywood action fare is now set in precolonial New Zealand and focuses on two feuding Maori villages.
The film opens with the meeting of two Maori tribes, under the auspices of securing a peace between their people. Wirepa (Te Kohne Tuhaka), the leader of the visiting tribe, has no intention of keeping the tenuous truce, and instead, manipulates the meeting and uses it as an excuse to start a war and enact revenge for past slights. He murders the other tribe’s chief, and he and his men slaughter the village, before taking off into the hills.
The chief’s teenage son, Hongi (James Rolleston), survives, having hidden outside the village. He sets out on a quest to bring justice to Wirepa in the name of his people. His journey takes him through a mysterious place known as The Dead Lands – a lonely, isolated patch of land shunned by nearby villages. Here, he teams up with a lone, forgotten Warrior (Lawrence Makoare) who lives in the forest. Together, they set out after Wirepa and the honor that exists for each of them at the end of their journey.
Central to both the plot and the aesthetic of the film is the Maori martial art Mau Rakau. A distinct fighting style, utilizing precise movements and weaponry - like some wicked paddles that are used to pummel your enemies right in their stupid faces. It’s totally badass and so fun to watch, not to mention a fascinating addition to the story. And though it often feels like the cinematography can't quite keep up with the action taking place onscreen, it's still an incredibly entertaining angle, giving the film a look and feel all its own.
But THE DEAD LANDS isn't all bloody fights and paddles to the head. On the surface, it has all the marks of a fun revenge tale told in a historical setting. But dig a little deeper, and you find some great meditations on the nature of honor and glory, each taking on different meanings for each of our main players. For Wierpa, honor lies in dominance over his enemies. For the Warrior, it is a chance to seek forgiveness from his ancestors for his past sins. And for Hongi, it is the chance to offer rest and honor to his father and village in the afterlife. The three perspectives join together over the course of the story and create a powerful thesis on the nature of honor and nobility.
The story is well carried by its actors, with Rolleston and Tuhaka turning in solid performances in their respective roles. Though, the highlight is definitely Makoare’s performance as the Warrior. His character runs the gamut from being this incredibly intimidating, tough as nails monster, to having some brilliant moments of vulnerability as he confesses some pretty dark secrets about his past. It’s a riveting performance that gives some of the scenes a great deal more weight than they might otherwise have.
The film is an entertaining display of culture and heritage, fully embracing multiple aspects of the Maori life and shaping them into a fascinating and fully engaging story. The history, beliefs, costuming, landscape, and martial arts all meld together to tell this simple, yet rich tale of a boy taking the last steps toward manhood with an incredible weight on his shoulders, never quite knowing how he will get there.
