In a future (or alternate) New York City plague by mutations and acid rain, a young man (Adam Plotch) falls for a strange woman (Talia Rubel). They begin a fractious relationship, and then it turns out that she’s his sister, whom he thought had died ten years earlier. The relationship continues, however, and there are hints that their family is somehow connected to the problems besetting the city.Shot on video, this is the feature debut of director Miguel Coyula, and shows great promise. Viewers expecting Matrix-style thrillers will be disappointed, but the adventurous will be rewarded by a dark psychological drama played out against an SF backdrop, surprisingly well rendered given the non-existent budget.
Audio
The rating here will inevitable be rather unfair, as the film shouldn’t be compared to a major studio offering. Inevitably, there is some harshness to the dialogue, and the sound isn’t as rich as one would expect from something more expensive. Still, the dialogue is always clear, and though the 2.0 sound misses out lots of opportunities for surround effects, it still gets the job done.
Video
Same caveat as above. The film was shot on video and looks it, and there are plenty of artifacting issues. The image is sharp, however, and never muddy or murky. Again, perfectly adequate, given the resources available. The aspect ratio is 1.33:1.
Special Features
A very generous set of features here. Coyula is joined on the commentary track by Plotch and fellow cast member Jeff Pucillo, and their discussion is largely how this or that was done. The making-of featurette is much more informative than most. There are three deleted scenes and some outtakes. Along with the director’s bio, the storyboards and the trailer is Coyula’s second short film, “Light Valve,” shot with high school friends when he was still in his native Cuba. The talent was already visible. The menu is fully animated and scored – a bit too much so, since the transitions can be a bit on the long side.
Closing Thoughts
A very intriguing first entry. I’ll be curious to see where the rest of the trilogy goes.
