{"id":24292,"date":"2017-02-18T06:12:18","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T11:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=24292"},"modified":"2017-02-18T03:21:40","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T08:21:40","slug":"deserted-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/18\/deserted-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Deserted (2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>After her release from jail for her mother\u2019s murder, Jae goes back home to live with her brother.\u00a0 As she is highly uncomfortable there, she decides to go with him and some friends to a music festival in the desert.\u00a0 After encountering mechanical difficulties, they meet a group of guys traveling in an RV and get lost in the desert.\u00a0 The beautiful location and landscape has them at ease at first until they realize they are lost and at risk of dying from the elements.\u00a0 Written and directed by Ashley Avis, Deserted is one mellow movie where the lead is looking for herself as much as her way out of the desert.\u00a0 The film processes in a slow fashion yet does not feel long or boring.\u00a0 It follows Jae and her brother Robin along with old and new friends.\u00a0 The dialogue seems genuine for the great majority of the film with a few hiccups that barely feel like such.\u00a0 The characters don\u2019t have much background from the start and a few bits and pieces are discovered along the way which works with the lead\u2019s search of self.<\/p>\n

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Unnecessary information is kept out of the story and yet the bare minimum being presented feels like enough.\u00a0 The characters are somewhat relatable to this mid-thirties reviewer yet they were not annoying in the lead\u2019s cases.\u00a0 A few of the characters are not people one would want to spend time with, but it works with the story\u2019s thread.\u00a0 The cast is interesting here with Misha Barton in the lead and Sebastian Bach in a small enough part to be called a cameo, both doing good in their respective parts.\u00a0 Barton looks a bit more mature and serious here than her usual and it works for her.\u00a0 She actually shows that she has some acting chops and takes a character with a dark past and a damaged soul making her someone a person with deep flaws and who had a lot of time to introspect before leaving jail yet she still finds out more about herself in the desert than she expected.\u00a0 Playing opposite her and bringing the most to film are Jackson Davis as her brother Robin, Trent Ford as Troy, and Winter Ave Zoli as Rosemary.<\/p>\n

These core actors bring the most to the film and create characters that pull different things out of Jae.\u00a0 The aforementioned Sebastian Bach is great, which is something that could be described as \u201cas usual,\u201d which is still a surprising thing to think or say.\u00a0 He has a screen presence that brings the attention to him and makes one wish she had more scenes.\u00a0 These characters evolve mostly in the desert where the scenery is stunning almost throughout.\u00a0 The cinematography by Garrett O’Brien takes full advantage of the location and lighting schemes in the desert sky, pulling images that look stunning and pull the viewer in.\u00a0 The way he frames the scenes and choses the angles creates a look for the film that is smoothing while being stunning.\u00a0 Working with these images is the music by Luigi Pulcini adds to the chill, relaxed atmosphere in most of the scenes, helping create the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Deserted is one of those films that will either work completely or not at all depending on each viewer.\u00a0 For some the chill, relaxed atmosphere and soul searching will work great while for other, it may feel overly long and a touch boring.\u00a0 However, if you go into it looking more for something introspective, you may very well like this movie a lot.\u00a0 Deserted is less about surviving in the desert after being lost and more about discovery or rediscovery of self and the importance of family and friends in the face of tragedy and desperation.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of those movies for which it\u2019s better to go in without any pre-established notions and just ready to go with the flow.<\/p>\n