As a mainly single-location set - that in itself is a challenge for any filmmaker, co-writer and director James Mark actually succeeds in making this work, especially considering this was clearly a low budget endeavor. The cinematography was excellent, the score absolutely spot-on, and the performances - specifically Sara Mitich, was what carried this film and kept me engaged at the start.
But as the first act had me intrigued with the slick imagery and atmosphere, the second act got a little cheesy with plot holes popping out everywhere, and started getting monotonous, then the final act is where it fell flat. Mark was successful in keeping the viewer guessing where this was going next, but as it approached the ending, the little extra action he added wasn't enough to render anything close to a satisfying ending.
Instead, it felt that I invested all that time for nothing, for a lazy convoluted ending that gave me more questions than answers. All the little details throughout were just style and filler and ended up being cliches and tidbits from past sci-fi films for his underwhelming resolution. What was even the point of the lullaby? The clones of George Tchortov's character? And Mitich's slow-mo walk of power when the action started just ended up being cheesy. There clearly was much more creativity needed in the final act of the screenplay.
At best, this felt like a long dragged out season premier for a Black Mirror-like TV series, and that's just a wasted opportunity and my 90 min investment for this film. This may have worked better as a part-one of two short films, because the idea was there, but nothing was substantiated or delivered in the 90 min runtime. It's a generous 6/10 from me.
But as the first act had me intrigued with the slick imagery and atmosphere, the second act got a little cheesy with plot holes popping out everywhere, and started getting monotonous, then the final act is where it fell flat. Mark was successful in keeping the viewer guessing where this was going next, but as it approached the ending, the little extra action he added wasn't enough to render anything close to a satisfying ending.
Instead, it felt that I invested all that time for nothing, for a lazy convoluted ending that gave me more questions than answers. All the little details throughout were just style and filler and ended up being cliches and tidbits from past sci-fi films for his underwhelming resolution. What was even the point of the lullaby? The clones of George Tchortov's character? And Mitich's slow-mo walk of power when the action started just ended up being cheesy. There clearly was much more creativity needed in the final act of the screenplay.
At best, this felt like a long dragged out season premier for a Black Mirror-like TV series, and that's just a wasted opportunity and my 90 min investment for this film. This may have worked better as a part-one of two short films, because the idea was there, but nothing was substantiated or delivered in the 90 min runtime. It's a generous 6/10 from me.