directed by:
Brady Nelson written by: Brady Nelson genre: Sci-Fi |
I mean... you just never know right? Technology, conspiracies, secret technologies, and of course, numbers. Those magical representations that are, in fact, the building blocks of everything - in the opinions of some that is. The simple truth is that our understanding of everything, from physics to mathematics, to life itself is always in flux. I am of course speaking in the grand sense - not in decades but rather over the span of thousands of years. Physics and math may not change all that much over one hundred years, but they sure do over ten thousand. By this point, you may be wondering what this all has to do with "Sybil" from writer, director Brady Nelson? The answer? Maybe everything - then again, perhaps not. You'll have to be the judge of that.
"Sybil" takes place within a world Brady Nelson shares other stories. "The Forgotten Project" is a series of episodes that, if they're anything like this one, feel kind of "Twilight Zone-y" in the best possible sense. In this particular episode, Jackson begins a job hunt online, and comes across a site that predicts his death to be the next day. What makes this revelation even more shocking, is that other folks on the list have died... just as the site said they would - and when. Jackson spends the rest of the film trying to track down the source of this information - to make damn sure in his case, the information turns out to be wrong. His search ultimately leads him to a pretty far-out technological realization, one that relates to the opening of this write-up. As for Jackson avoiding his fate? You'll simply have to watch the episode to find out - and being totally honest, it's a great little diversion. "Sybil" is a perfect example of low-budget, independent film done well. The shot compositions are mostly simple, to the point visuals - with a sprinkling of more complex shots to up the ante a little. That gritty, indie look is not something Nelson has steered away from, but rather he seems to have embraced it - giving this episode a reality-styled look that enhances the overall feel. This flick isn't overly polished, but is a nice reflection of the crazy, darker world we all live in.
Our two main characters come across as real for the most part, and any completely awkward deliveries either didn't exist or were edited out - I can find no fault when it comes to the performances, none at all. If I did have a complaint... it would be the computer voice that sounds straight out of an evil 80s movie. You would figure that when your phone can sound more human sometimes than your actual friends in real life, an advanced system as shown in this flick - would surely not sound like an evil Stephen Hawking. Yet I should also point out that the dated sounding computer voice - did add a certain creep factor to the film. No question about that. When its all said and done, I actually really enjoyed this short film... err... episode. I call it a short film because as a story, it easily stands alone - with a start, middle, and ending. The creep factor is in place, and its the perfect way to highlight our advancements in technology - consumer-based or something much more advanced. I have no doubt us regular folks only get the tip of the iceberg tech - and the implications of this short film are scary, to say the least. A solid three and a half stars. |
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