I know very well the many difficulties independent filmmakers often have when trying to make a movie, a lot of them coming from the fact that these filmmakers usually have a lot less resources than filmmakers of big budget major studio films. So I will give some praise for the filmmakers of "Dead Draw" for coming up with a story that could easily be filmed on the pittance of the budget they had on their hands. While the movie is low budget, the seams don't show. Unfortunately, that's about the only praise I can give for this movie. The main reason why the movie fails is its script. For about two-thirds of the movie, we are subjected to so many flashbacks - and flashbacks that aren't for the most part that interesting or insightful - that it's impossible for the main story thread to build up any momentum or suspense. As a result, most of the movie plays out really flat and dull, punctuated occasionally by some murky plot touches that just add some confusion to the narrative. I think the filmmakers were trying to be somewhat different than many B-movies, but honestly I think they would have been more successful had they told this story in a more conventional way.
