Film

The Dead Lands

Name: The Dead Lands
Genre: Adventure, Action
Released: 2014
Cast: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Xavier Horan, Raukura Turei

Revenge action

A Māori teen warrior must cross cursed, monster-filled terrain to avenge his tribe's massacre. Gritty, beautifully shot New Zealand action cinema—part revenge saga, part survival epic, grounded in real cultural mythology rather than fantasy tropes. For anyone who wants their action visceral and their landscapes stunning.

TMDb rating

3.1

If you liked this

Pathfinder1987

A Viking warrior hunted across brutal Nordic wilderness by enemies he cannot defeat in open combat. Raw, physical filmmaking that shares The Dead Lands' commitment to authentic landscape and economic storytelling.

But It's a 1987 film—pacing and effects reflect that era. Some viewers find its sparse dialogue frustrating rather than atmospheric.

Once Were Warriors1994

Essential Māori cinema about trauma, family, and cultural identity in contemporary New Zealand. Raw and urgent in ways that deepen your understanding of what The Dead Lands is drawing from culturally.

But Relentlessly dark domestic violence drama—not an action film, and emotionally punishing in a different register entirely.

Ong-Bak2003

Thai martial arts film with genuine stunt work and fight choreography that prioritizes clarity over editing tricks. Same DNA as The Dead Lands: local hero, spiritual quest, fights that feel earned and painful.

But Subtitled, and the plot is minimal scaffolding for action sequences. If you're not there for the fighting, you'll find it thin.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Dead Lands

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

What We Do in the Shadows2014

Same filmmaker ecosystem and moment in New Zealand cinema; proof that indigenous storytellers bring specificity to whatever genre they choose.

Māori filmmaker Taika Waititi made a vampire mockumentary the same year The Dead Lands came out. Wildly different tone—absurdist comedy instead of grim revenge—but both films are distinctly Aotearoa in sensibility, and both earned international attention for local cinema.

But A comedy about flatmates who happen to be vampires. If you want the dark, serious tone of The Dead Lands, this will feel flippant and jarring.

The Last of the Mohicans1992

Colonial-era revenge and survival across wilderness, with a mixed-allegiance warrior teaching an outsider to fight. Operatic action-adventure that shares the same skeleton but with bigger budget and romance plot.

But Significantly more melodramatic. The love story may feel at odds with the grimy tone you loved in The Dead Lands.

Valhalla Rising2010

A mute warrior guides Christians through brutal terrain toward a promised land that doesn't exist. Hypnotic, violent, mythologically layered—asks the same questions about honour and vengeance that The Dead Lands does.

But Extremely slow, cryptic, and abstract. Nicolas Winding Refn makes films that feel like fever dreams. Not for viewers wanting clarity or conventional narrative momentum.

Beasts of No Nation2015

A child soldier's journey through West African conflict zones with a mysterious commandant figure. Visceral, culturally specific, grounded in real geography and real violence—not sanitized action cinema.

But Deals with child abuse and trauma exploitation. Emotionally exhausting in a way designed to challenge rather than entertain.

The Northman2022

Norse revenge epic with the same DNA as The Dead Lands—cursed lands, ancestral duty, a warrior forced into unlikely alliances. Stylish, brutal, and genuinely mythological rather than fantasy-flavoured.

But Glossy prestige production rather than scrappy regional cinema. Some find it self-conscious about its own coolness.

Rapa Nui1994

Easter Island tribal warfare and mythology brought to the screen with commitment to cultural authenticity and landscape grandeur. Obscure adventure film that deserves rediscovery for those who loved Dead Lands' sense of place.

But Uneven pacing and some dated choices. Ambition occasionally outstrips execution, and romantic subplot distracts from stronger tribal conflict material.

Macunaima1969

Brazilian folk hero's picaresque journey through jungle and city, blending myth, comedy, and social commentary. A very different tonal register but shares that specificity of place and indigenous storytelling sensibility.

But Surreal, digressive, and deliberately artificial. The 1960s avant-garde approach will alienate anyone wanting straightforward narrative or consistent tone.

Ran1985

Both centre a young warrior navigating a world corrupted by their father's murder; both use landscape as moral terrain; both are about vengeance failing to deliver what the hero needs.

Kurosawa's late masterpiece—an aging warlord divides his lands and triggers tribal apocalypse. Revenge, betrayal, and cursed landscapes rendered in operatic colour and scope. Tests the same question The Dead Lands asks: what is honour worth when everyone around you is corrupt?

But A four-hour Japanese film from 1985. Requires patience, subtitles, and willingness to sit with ambiguity. Not action in the sense you might expect.

Embrace of the Serpent2015

Both films centre indigenous protagonists reclaiming agency through landscape; both use wilderness as spiritual rather than merely physical challenge; both interrogate what 'civilization' has cost.

Colombian black-and-white film following an Amazonian shaman guiding a European scientist upriver through mythologized jungle. Slow, hypnotic, visually stunning—a spiritual quest where the landscape and indigenous knowledge are the story, not backdrop.

But Deliberately experimental and paced like a trance. Very little plot or dialogue. Demands active attention and rewards patience, but some viewers will find it impenetrable or boring.