South by Southwest 2023 Film Festival – In Deadland, three Texas border agents can’t quite shake the accidental death of a migrant. The man returns again and again, an unsettling figure that’s an eerie manifestation of guilt. This premise makes for a haunting and gripping thriller with seemingly divergent storylines that lead to a satisfying conclusion.

Directed by Lance Larson , who co-wrote the script with Jas Shelton, the film stars Roberto Urbina as Angel Waters. Angel apprehends a migrant at the border. Initially, it appears he drowns trying to cross, but suddenly props himself up in the backseat of the patrol car. Talk about creepy. Angel takes the man (Luis Chávez) into custody for processing. Two other agents, Ray (McCaul Lombardi) and Salome (Julieth Restrepo), get into a tussle with the stranger, who keeps stating that he has to get to El Paso. Salome accidently shoots the man, and when Angel returns to check on the migrant, he finds his blood and brains splattered on the wall. The agents bury the incident by deleting the file, but the man keeps coming back again and again. His presence torments the agents, to the point they nearly snap and turn on each other. Whenever the stranger re-appears, be it in Ray’s hotel room or in the backseat of Angel’s patrol vehicle, it’s always a hair-raising moment. Chavez’s character is both eerie and mystifying. He’s a commanding presence in the film, even if his scenes are short and his words so few.

Meanwhile, Angel’s estranged father, Ignacio (Manuel Uriza), suddenly appears one day, holding a picture of Angel’s deceased mother. However, he’s wanted by the powers that be because he’s an undocumented immigrant, leaving Angel and his wife, Hannah (Kendal Rae), to hide him from ICE agents in their home. The interactions between Ignacio, who’s been in and out of psych wards for the last 30 years, and Angel add some real dramatic weight to the film. This is a good counterweight to some of the film’s more hair-raising elements featuring the ghostly migrant. Rightfully so, Angel is peeved at his father for bailing on the family and then showing up one day out of the blue. None of it makes sense, at least initially. It takes time for the storylines to connect, and in lesser hands, the eventual conclusion could have been quite clunky. Not here, though.

Regarding the performances, there’s not a weak one among the cast, and other than Chavez, Urbina is the real standout here. He makes a compelling leading man. Restrepo and Lombardi deserve accolades too in their supporting roles. The feature also contains some absolutely stunning cinematography by Shelton that enhances the border setting. Meanwhile, Christopher Dean White‘s affecting score is another positive, bolstering some of the film’s uncanny moments.

Overall, Deadland is an evocative and arresting film. It has some truly chilling moments inside of a weighty drama. This is an immigrant story unlike others we’ve seen, a striking vision and memorable first feature by Larson.

7.5 Out of 10