Stephen Lessey (Stephen Young) is a popular horror writer who is constantly pressured to top himself, so he comes up with wilder and sicker stories to scare his readers. Many object to his tasteless material, but he is steadfast that he is providing his readers a public service. Meanwhile, his marriage is crumbling, his kids are becoming a handful, and he is possibly having a breakdown. When tragedy strikes his family, his world further spirals out of control.
The choppy narrative is the only real stumbling block to this otherwise dark, depressing, and deranged horror thriller. The vignettes that represent Lessey’s stories intrude (sometimes violently) on the scenes of his work, family, and marital strife. The continuous shifting focus is meant to throw the audience off guard and keep them on their toes, but it sometimes makes for a frustrating viewing experience.
The bottom line is that these sequences are often insane, bizarre, and deeply disturbing. A woman is killed by a shower that shoots blood, a pregnant mother is murdered by her own fetus in the delivery room, and kids tie up and set fire to their clueless old grandmother. The best sequence is when an evil Nazi scientist uses punk rock music to blow up homeless people.
Deadline is uneven to be sure. Nevertheless, it’s sort of fascinating. The film is obviously an anti-horror statement, as it blames real-life tragedy squarely on horror movies and the people who make them. Because of that, they use every sick trick in the book to prove their point and shock you, and I have to admit, it works.
This is one ugly and mean-spirited movie. The senseless depictions of children dying are especially a bit much. However, the way director Mario Azzopardi pulls out all the stops is really something to behold. While depraved and reprehensible, Deadline has a number of shocking moments. They are low blows to be sure, but they’re effective, nevertheless. The final act is a depressing headlong plunge into despair and degeneracy, the depths of which few films plumb.
It’s been a while since a movie made me jump. It’s been even longer since one actually shocked me. Deadline did both. Because of that, I just have to tip my hat to it, even if it does play dirty.
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