By DEIRDRE CRIMMINS
Starring Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy
Written and directed by Michael Felker
XYZ Films
While many horror films have their feet firmly on the ground, the ones that tip into the realm of speculative fiction ask bigger questions, like “What if?” What if reality broke? What if time stopped? What if a bunch of strangers are stuck in a giant cube where the laws of physics have no power? THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT is a horrifying speculative fiction film that asks, “What if?” and answers that question with mental and physical terror.
THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT is the feature film debut of writer-director Michael Felker. Here, the longtime editor takes the director’s chair, but genre nerds are likely to have seen films with his touch via his work with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead over the past decade. If there were a boot camp for speculative fiction, seemingly unencumbered by a single location and tighter budget, the sets of Benson and Moorhead films would be it.
This film starts by plopping us in the middle of an ongoing story. Estranged siblings Joseph and Sidney (Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy) have reconnected over a robbery meant to solve Sidney’s financial woes and help her start a new life with her daughter. Though that plan is clear, what follows is something much less traditional.
To evade the police, the siblings head to an abandoned farmhouse that offers them a little extra cover. This house hides them not only from the cops but also from time. There, they are unable to leave or participate in the world as they know it, but they are safe and untraceable. However, the real terror comes when they discover they might not be alone and the house might not function like they have been told.
Where THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT is most brilliant is in the writing. The relationship between Sidney and Joseph feels perfectly real, and it is easy to empathize with them and their situation while still acknowledging their faults. These two are far from perfect, and the way they are written is consistently upheld by their interactions and motives through this monotonous and unpredictable ordeal. Thompson and Dandy are both up to the task of portraying these complicated characters with a lifelong relationship with grace and vulnerability.
On top of the humanity in the film, the mechanics of this temporal bubble are downright fascinating. Just because they cannot go home does not mean they are entirely isolated. There is a rudimentary communication system, but there is no way of knowing who they are speaking with or the motives of those on the outside. This tension ratchets up the plot to an inevitable and fantastically unpredictable climax. Still, even with all of the “What ifs?” and rules for survival, the only reason any of this matters is that we care about the characters and what might happen to them next.
Crafting a story of two characters, sitting in a farmhouse for days on end without a moment of audience boredom takes major talent. Spinning that same scenario into a speculative horror story through performance and plot alone is a higher level. THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT is an incredible film.
