Dredd Fanmade Spinoff Isn’t The Sequel We’re Waiting For, But Don’t Hold That Against It
This article is more than 2 years old
The following video is NSFW for F-bombs and some awesomely bloody gunplay.
There doesn’t have to be an all-knowing God of Cinema in order for a sequel to last year’s fan-loved flop Dredd; there just has to be a few brave and intelligent producers who believe in the material. The “Make a Dredd Sequel” campaign has amassed tens of thousands of followers who anxiously await those producers to come out of the dark. But some fans aren’t content just sitting around waiting. Director Oliver Hollingdale recently unveiled the first episode (or “prog”) in his web series Cursed Edge, an extension of the comic-to-film universe, rather than a straight up sequel. You won’t find Dredd judging anyone here, but you will find one of the most solid examples of fanmade fiction out there.
In the Pleasure District of Mega-City One, there’s a whole lot of debauchery going on, and a lot of it includes the sexual kind. A female Judge, played by Kiarnie Camp, is sent in to clean up the filth, which is accomplished by shooting a bunch of people in the face. Sure, there’s a lot to be said about our current system of justice relying on courtroom and paper trails, but it’s hard to be a repeat offender after getting a bullet to the face.
Admittedly, the performances themselves aren’t entirely convincing, down to the Pacific Rim-style narration over the beginning. But this is all in comparison to the Dredd film itself. This is too good a project to talk shit about just because nobody has Karl Urban’s thespian skills.
As a stand-alone piece of fiction, it looks and plays excellently, from the colorful locations and CG-created cityscape to the moody electronic soundtrack. It looks like a lot of time was spent in post-production making all these boob-heavy window fronts look just so. It also kind of looks like the lens flares that J.J. Abrams didn’t use on Star Trek Into Darkness were used here.
The best part of it all? This is only one of six planned episodes, which fall under the collective title of “Case File #1.” Does that mean more Case Files will come if this initial series is a success? It’s possible.
This episode ends with a mysterious camouflaged assassin taking out a Judge just as his identity is discovered. It isn’t clear whether this has anything at all to do with the sex-tinged story, but it seems like. What is this so-called Cursed Edge? Is it like the edge of a seat?
Go over to the web series’ Facebook page and let them know what you thought about it. Just don’t be a dick, because that just might come under the jurisdiction of one Judge or another.
