When we first meet our lead Charlie (Joe Belknap), he is returning to his Toledo, Ohio apartment for a little R&R. Suddenly, his girlfriend Samantha (Mary Lindberg) calls. She is in Minnesota and is anxious over the recent turn of events worldwide. Apparently, the news is reporting an outbreak of zombies - or as the film refers to them, "the Infected" - and the planet is coming apart. Cut to Charlie waking up, and we realize that he's made good on his promise to find Samantha and save her, and that he is currently on his way to Wausau in Wisconsin to meet up with her. Society has indeed crumbled and the survivors are struggling against both the monsters and mankind's own hateful nature. With fellow travelers Meredith (Michelle Courvais) and Thomas (Aaron Christensen) for company, Charlie slowly meanders across the barren and desolate Midwestern landscape, avoiding the fiends while discovering that others who've managed to stay alive are, perhaps, more dangerous than the ever-present walking dead.

Dead Weight reminds one of The Road, that Cormac McCarthy epic where the end of the world brings out the worst in people. It also nails several seasons of that AMC zombie phenom, as well as other similarly themed post-apocalyptic visions. Bartlett and Pata clearly had little money to work with and make the most of their vivid, snow-covered Wisconsin locations. In fact, local color more than makes up for a lack of scope in other areas. As for the main narrative, we do believe that Charlie and Samantha are in love, look forward to seeing if they will make it back together again, and are slightly sadden when the truth about their reality is finally revealed. For a short or perhaps an installment segment of a horror anthology, this material would work masterfully. Keeping things confined and claustrophobic goes to the overall plot and pacing as well. So stretching things out to near 90 minutes is a bit much. It requires our creators to go back and remind us of things we already know, as well as pull in other elements from better (or at least, bigger budgeted films) to keep us connected.

At least this is one survival story where all hope is not lost. Most movies of this kind - and adaptation of The Road was guilty of this - basically let us know that our players have no options and are barely living on borrowed time. This is where scope comes into play, and unfortunately, Dead Weight doesn't have the cash to create such spectacle. Instead, it stays small, and reworks its off screen "infected" for maximum impact. And it succeeds. We shudder when we finally see these beings, and recognize that, ala Jaws, having them mostly function as a frightmare MacGuffin is the right thing to do. Had they been onscreen longer, we'd end up with something ala Nightmare City - a grim and gross out gorefest with zombies that look like victims from a pizza dough explosion. As Spielberg did with his take on Peter Benchley's killer fish fiction, Bartlett and Pata play with the material they can afford. The result is something that offers dread and decent tension instead of landmark dystopian death. Dead Weight is not a perfect film, but it's definitely much better than you'd imagine.

THE DVD:
Considering this movie is a combination of dour, earth-toned 'nows' and brightly lit and colored 'thens,' the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image provided by Horizon Films is very good indeed. It balances out the two approaches very well, delivering a transfer that's clean and crisp. There are also two different mixes available as audio options. Both the Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround tracks are good, but not really different enough to warrant the multi-channel upgrade. Dialogue is still easily discernible and clear. Oddly enough, Dead Weight receives more added content than most major blockbusters are outfitted with. We get a feature length commentary track from Bartlett and Pata as well as one featuring leads Joe Belknap and Mary Lindberg. The filmmakers are eager to share their enthusiasm over the movie while the actors seem to repeat many of the same insights and anecdotes. We are also treated to a series of deleted and extended scenes. There are some outtakes, as well as a 20 minutes making-of featurette and a trailer. A rather well packed DVD presentation considering the film inside.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
With your expectations set to the right levels and an understanding that, like World War Z, this will be an experience where the threat is more hinted at than faced head on, you will actually enjoy Dead Weight. It has all the signs of a flawed first film, but overall, it warrants a Recommendation, if only to show the mostly jaded horror fan that there are ways to take on this material without resulting to repetition or redundancy. Granted, a zombie film without zombies can be a trial, no matter the hunky leading man leading the charge. Dead Weight decides character and circumstance will carry it past the questions of F/X and scope. It's mostly right.

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