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By Melvin Twigg Mason
The Atlas Lakeshore Cinema in Euclid was the host of the theatrical premiere of Dustin Lee’s epic movie, “Evenfall.” The film is a post-apocalyptic offering from his label, Maple Films Ltd., with help from Amos Productions and A Last Resort Productions. Written, produced, directed, shot, and edited by Lee, a Cleveland native and graduate of Kent State University, this indie film is the story of one mother’s efforts to find and retrieve her abducted son from the hands of a quasi-governmental organization known simply as “The Hands.”
Set in the year 2071, after several world wars, uprisings, and pandemics, widowed mom Claire is desperately trying to establish a safe homestead for herself and her son, David. But an agent working for The Hands decides David is needed elsewhere for the continued existence of humanity. What ensues is a search and struggle between the fierce expectations of a mother and the needs of a place called “Evenfall!”
Sarah Carleton plays Claire, a hard-nosed mom fighting bandits and bear traps in her quest to survive and retrieve her son. Unfortunately, because her character is predominantly angry & anxious in this overcast world, Sarah’s performance is much less nuanced than other characters in this film. The lovable and sometimes heroic Reggie is well-played by Morgan McLeod. Rachel Anderson is the agent (“Trisha Forster”) whom you’re not always sure whether to love or hate. And Rick Montgomery Jr. as Garrett the backwoodsman brings the warmth and comic relief necessary to complete the audience’s three-hour emotional rollercoaster ride.
What’s remarkable about this independent project is that despite Evenfall’s $33,000 budget, its quality rises to the level of other productions with much higher budgets, such as AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” SyFy Channel’s “Z Nation,” or ABCs “Revolution,” thanks in part to the wonderfully plotted music score provided by 24-year-old Jake Weston, also a former Cleveland native. Once you get past the slow-moving opening scene (say, 14 minutes in), the action & pacing of the story pick up dramatically and keep your attention all the way to its heart-pounding and heartwarming conclusion. The choice of drab costuming for the characters provides a stark contrast to the glimmers of beauty & color that Lee found at various film locations like the Hoover Dam in Nevada, Lake Mead, and the Cuyahoga Valley. The lighting (Scott Morrison, Jon Jivan), sound (Chris Mack), and makeup are all well-balanced in this work of love. Some stock footage and technical consultation were even provided by technicians from the NASA-Glenn Research Center here in Brookpark.
Though it actually only took 30 working days to film (over a 3-year period), “Evenfall” is a must-see waiting for backers to discover and distribute it. Until then, you can find the seven podcast episodes, which combine to make the feature-length film, on YouTube.
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