The Dead Lands **
Dir: Toa Fraser.
With: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Xavier Horan. 107
mins. Cert: 15
It’s both appropriate
and unfortunate that Toa Fraser’s film should bear the logo of Mel
Gibson-affiliated distributor Icon: this tale of a young warrior’s blooding
resembles Apocalypto in Maori instead
of Mayan, although the comparison does it few favours. Despite a promisingly
muscular set-up – survivor of tribal massacre leads his pursuers into
no-man’s-land – the hide-and-seek games that follow feel constrained for budgetary
reasons, and a self-conscious solemnity settles upon the drama. Tastefully
framed and culturally sensitive, but even the action scenes – doing something
Sealed Knotty with sharpened wooden paddles – underwhelm: I say it quietly, but
I missed Mad Mel’s tacky showmanship and transgressive zeal.
The Dead Lands opens in selected cinemas from today.
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