MARCH 31 — Sci-fi, especially lo-fi sci-fi, isn't the most popular of genres.
Outside of comic book adaptations and well-established franchises, sci-fi films have always found it hard to make a serious dent at the box office, and with profits never guaranteed, it's always hard to get a sci-fi project off the ground since most people will associate sci-fi with special effects and a significant budget.
Like it or not, even critically acclaimed sci-fi classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris and Silent Running had significant budgets, because even when you don't put in that many visual effects, the production design needed to build the sets etc. will kill you.
And when even a tentpole Hollywood production like Blade Runner 2049 struggled at the US box-office, you know that when it comes to adult-oriented sci-fi, the struggle is real.
So to have already encountered more than a handful of sci-fi films before April even arrives in 2018 is quite something. I've already written about three of the bigger budgeted ones on Netflix a couple of weeks ago, and this week I'm going to focus on three other sci-fi treats on the opposite side of the budget scale.
These are small indie films, usually with a cast of only a few people and only a few locations, but not short on ambition as they try to tell their sci-fi stories with the most minimal of budgets.
Lo-fi sci-fi, some people have called films like these. Check them out!
Altered Hours
Bruce Wemple, remember that name. If Rian Johnson had Brick (and then went on to Looper and The Last Jedi) and Duncan Jones had Moon (which then landed him Source Code and Warcraft), Altered Hours should serve as an equally impressive calling card for Wemple.
An intricate time travel scenario that plays like a blend of Primer, Predestination, Coherence and Memento but with drugs as the catalyst instead of the normal time machine (can we call this Requiem For A Predestination then?), this is a seriously impressive feat of film-making.
There may be only about seven characters and about four or five locations in total for the whole film, but Wemple has crafted a hugely entertaining, involving and thrilling movie from such humble ingredients.
Telling the story of a drug user whose dalliance with a new street drug has resulted in him drifting in and out of consciousness at different points in the future, which made him realise that he can help solve a kidnapping case involving a neighbour, this smart little film deserves a large audience. Seek it out and thank me later.
Sequence Brea
A pretty clear love letter to the deliciously icky body horror films of David Cronenberg, Sequence Break plays like Videodrome filtered through Tron. Or maybe it's just Videodrome with arcade games instead of the TV.
Although not exactly original, I'd still give points to writer-director Graham Skipper (a familiar face in the indie horror scene with acting roles in The Mind's Eye, Carnage Park and Beyond The Gates) for having the guts to tell a nerdy boy meets nerdy girl story that involves a demonic video game, which of course is the perfect excuse to pay tribute to not only Videodrome, but also the yucky practical effects that made Cronenberg's The Fly and Existenz so memorable.
I can't really say that the story makes much sense, thanks to the deliriously trippy final act, but I still cared about the two leads enough to want them to see things through. If weirdness is your thing, this might just be worth your time.
Imitation Girl
Last but not least, we get something even rarer in the world of lo-fi sci-fi, which is a sci-fi film directed by a woman! A mumblecore blending of The Man Who Fell To Earth and Under The Skin, writer-director Natasha Kermani makes do with just a few simple visual effects to establish the sci-fi nature of the story by opening the film with an alien object landing atop of a porn magazine, with the alien being taking the physical form of the porn star on the magazine cover, Julianna Fox.
Thereafter the narrative zig zags between the life of Julianna and the alien, simply billed as Imitation in the film's credits, both played by one of indie horror's favourite actresses, Lauren Ashley Carter (who can be seen in Jug Face, Darling, Pod and The Mind's Eye, among many others).
By contrasting the wide-eyed innocence of Imitation with the world weariness of Julianna, which culminates in a heartbreaking scene involving Julianna and the questions she asks herself about being involved in the porn world, Kermani has crafted a surprisingly touching meditation on what it means to be human and alive.
Don't expect a neat resolution, but if you open yourself up to the film's peculiar rhythms, you'll find yourself in the company of something quite beautiful.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
