Speculative mockumentary, social-consciousness motivated afterschool special for adults has at its heart an interesting premise, but sadly does nothing with it. There is nothing special here except for the basic idea, which for some reason was made into a movie. It's given the "actual" movie treatment, which makes the lack of action, plot, or characterization rather uncomfortably weak and banal.
Some of the sequences have the potential to be compelling drama, but this movie isn't interested in drama. Instead, it's interested in trying to scare the hell out of us by showing just how fragile our existence is, which it does rather clinically. A 500-word article on the subject would have had the same effect.
I would have been happy if it had explored the thin line between human civilization and the animal survival instinct. Or the exploration of anything with any sort of depth -- you know, a movie -- might have been nice. I think there were too many slugs in the shotgun here to portray anything with depth. Focusing on two or three of the stories and actually using narrative technique could have turned this into a nifty scientific object lesson. Instead, we are left with a questionable campfire story with little or no actual narrative value.
Some of the sequences have the potential to be compelling drama, but this movie isn't interested in drama. Instead, it's interested in trying to scare the hell out of us by showing just how fragile our existence is, which it does rather clinically. A 500-word article on the subject would have had the same effect.
I would have been happy if it had explored the thin line between human civilization and the animal survival instinct. Or the exploration of anything with any sort of depth -- you know, a movie -- might have been nice. I think there were too many slugs in the shotgun here to portray anything with depth. Focusing on two or three of the stories and actually using narrative technique could have turned this into a nifty scientific object lesson. Instead, we are left with a questionable campfire story with little or no actual narrative value.