Audience Member
for a first time filmmaker, this is a good start
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
âThe Final Night and Dayâ is the latest locally-produced film to come out of Buffalo. The third feature film from Deftone Pictures Studios and director Adam Stiegert, the zombie epic follows the struggle of a prison guard that not only has to deal with unruly prisoners, but also the undead.
During a routine prison transport, an accident occurs. With the prison bus disabled, and one guard dead, the remaining guards, including Richard Jennings (Daniel George) and Marshall Jones (Richard Satterwhite, Release the Funny), decide to walk the prisoners to town. The hungry undead soon find the entourage, and cause the group to split up.
âThe Final Night and Dayâ is different from the typical Hollywood zombie film as it closely follows and builds on the human factor of the apocalypse. How would humanity react to the dead coming back to life? Would we all work together, or turn on each other? The society that is created by some of the survivors turns out to be a cruel, Roman-style community, complete with a Colosseum. Its emperor-like leader rules with an iron fist.
For a low budget, indie film, the effects of âThe Final Night and Dayâ are incredible. Special Effects and Make-up supervisor Rod Durick (Zombiefied Studios, Born to Die and Slime City Massacre) works magic with a low budget, creating ghoulish, fantastic-looking zombies, facial scars, and gunshots to rival they're big budget Hollywood brothers. For one particular scene in the film, there is a road filled with over 400 bloodied, hungry undead, with cars flipped, debris filling the street. Filmed on a single day in the small town of Angola, NY, Durick, along with the help of a few assistants, applied Hollywood-style make-up to all 400+ extras from the town who showed up to help the film out.
The film looks fantastic for such a low-budget affair, rivaling quality of several million dollar productions, with make-up that would make zombie-legend George Romero proud. Filmed in and around Buffalo, NY, the film features the fictional city of Metzburg, a location talked about in previous Deftone Pictures Studios films âGoreâ and âBitezâ.
While the film has spectacular make-up, effects, and story, there is one weak point: acting. Some actors perform very well, including Chris Wroblewski (Born to Die and Slime City Massacre) as Nazi Boy George, and Richard Satterwhite as Marshall Jones. These actors really draw you into the story and make you root for their character (even the truly evil Nazi Boy George). These two are the real standouts of the film. Other actors though, need to tone their craft a bit in future projects. Now before I go on, many of the actors in this film are NOT professional actors, they act as a hobby, or even as a favor to the director. I would have liked to have seen a better performance from Kyle Andrews (as Mo), but a particular scene explaining his back story shows a stronger performance. Had he been able to channel that throughout the film, I feel his character would be more likable. The other actor I would like to have seen an improvement from would be Daniel George (as lead character Richard Jennings). This is George's first film, and like Andrews, he has strong scenes and weak scenes. I particulatrly liked the opening scenes with Jennings learning about the convicts. I, however, felt that some scenes, particularly when he is talking to the crowd at the Pit, seem very scripted, almost as if he is reading from cue cards. I am sure that Mr. George will be able to improve his acting skills in future projects, and look forward to seeing him in perhaps Deftone Pictures Studios next feature.
Taking everything into consideration, I would say that âThe Final Night and Dayâ is by far the best locally-produced indie film that I have seen to date, by far Adam Steigerts best film. I look forward to his next feature, which I've been told will be filming this Fall. I give the film Four out of Five stars.
âThe Final Night and Dayâ premieres March 26th at 3PM at the Hamburg Palace (31 Buffalo St., Hamburg, NY 14075), with an encore showing at midnight. Future shows are currently being booked, and a limited DVD and Blu-Ray release is in the works as well. For more information, please visit the films official website www.DeftonePicturesStudios.com.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
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