You really have to feel for Zeke.
Raised by a drunken and abusive father, his mother left and doesn’t want anything to do with him, and he is constantly bullied by a group of older students.
But things really get bad when he accidentally finds a top secret death ray which the military inadvertently lost in a train wreck.
Deadly Weapon started out as a sequel or maybe remake of Charles Band‘s pre-Empire film, Laserblast (there’s even a nice little fake-out at the beginning, when the opening narration suggests that we will once again be dealing with aliens), but turned into something else along the way (thanks, in part, to the collapse of Empire).
.It is also a surprisingly serious film, particularly when you remember that this is a Full Moon film, aimed primarily at the direct to video market. The whole films revolves around abuse and bullying — and the harm they’ve done to Zeke.
It is also an all-too-rare example of genuine tragedy (in the original sense of the word) in a low budget science fiction film (or teen drama or thriller or whatever you want). The events are set in motion by desperation and a horrible accident.
Zeke has no intention of harming anyone but keeps finding himself driven deeper and deeper into trouble.
Let’s face it: this is a fairly dark film, with a sympathetic hero who remains sympathetic no matter how dark his path gets.
But if you’re looking for a movie about someone shooting up the town with a ray gun, Deadly Weapon may not be what you are looking for.
It’s not my favorite Full Moon film by a long Death Ray shot, but it is a surprising effort from a company whose films tend to be absurd and generally mindless entertainment (although one does note the very similar themes in a film they released only a few years later, Castle Freak).
So file it under “better than average — but a bit depressing.” It is strikingly different from Full Moon’s typical offerings, reasonably well made, and tragic (and, as I pointed out, in the original sense of the word). And if you are in the mood for something a little more serious in the exploitation horror film line, then this one should fit the bill.
But it’s still depressing.
Oh, well.
rivets on the poster 