directed by:
Brady Nelson written by: Brady Nelson genre: Sci-Fi |
An unseen creature lurks on our planet, living out in the open, all around us - yet we can't see it. It inhabits a realm, color space, or maybe a frequency that we can't see with our normal eyes. Much like so many color spectrums that remain invisible to us. It's only through an experimental implant - augmented reality, that we can see these creatures. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem - except that these things don't want to be seen. I should also mention that they are able to kill us, making their murders seem like a heart attack, brain aneurysm... or something. As our hero Cassandra finds out, much like in the film, "Pulse," once these things see and want you, that's just what they'll get. "Peripheral" keeps it short and on-point - a quick diversion. Yet for me, there were some serious questions... and I'll get into them below.
So, here's the thing. A lot of what happens in "Peripheral" just didn't make sense to me. Actions, reactions, and the general underlying concept kind of fell apart very quickly. Take the professor, or doctor, or whoever is running the beta-trials for instance. No man running human trials like this would dismiss Cassandra's claims of weird creatures so easily, especially when all the evidence is essentially proving what she's saying may be true. Or at the very least, proving that something is going on. With all that is said just before her "man" is killed, at the very least, the doctor would look into it. If he himself can't see the creatures, at the very least he can see that the HUD glitches all over the place whenever Cassandra says they are there. Do you really think he wouldn't at least consider that something is going on?
Then, you have to ask yourself this... wouldn't there be a recording of the creatures? Since this device allows Cassandra to see them, through augmentation, then wouldn't whoever watches the video of what Cassandra sees - also see them? It makes no sense if they wouldn't, because Cassandra can definitely see them. You can't even use the argument that there is no recorded video, because that wouldn't make any sense either. But even if for some reason they couldn't be recorded, refer to what I wrote about the glitches in the display. It all really makes no sense whatsoever. Then, you have the creatures themselves. I find it laughable that a murderous creature, who is smart enough to live among us and not be seen, would run around saying, "Die, die, die" like some video game or kids show character. Seriously? Die, die, die? You also have to question Cassandra's actual reaction to one of these creatures. Instead of turning tail and running, she simply looks up at the ceiling. Huh, what? Let me tell you reader, if that happened to me, and I seen one of these things telling me to die, die, die... I wouldn't be standing still looking at the roof - I'd be gone. Yesterday. At the end of the day, things are definitely not all bad. The concept is pretty cool and visually, there's nothing really wrong with this short film. It's just that the characters within the story are completely not believable. Yet, there is something here that I did enjoy, a charm of sorts. "Peripheral" is far from perfect, but it's surely not a complete washout. Taken for what it is, it's an interesting little film with a "Twilight Zone" feel to it. Two stars. |
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