By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Starring Anja Akstin, Fred Thomas Jr. and Ricky Herrera
Directed by Brian and Laurence Avenet-Bradley
Written by Simon Clark and Brian Avenet-Bradley
Jinga Films
It’s a shame that an early synopsis released for THE PROTOS EXPERIMENT, currently used by a number of websites, gives part of the movie’s game away. There’s an eerie sense of mystery to the first act before its key revelation is sprung, so be careful what you read about the film before you see it. (It goes into general release July 15 following assorted festival dates, including its East Coast premiere at this past weekend’s Philip K. Dick Film Festival.)
What can be safely described is the opening sequence, in which John (Fred Thomas Jr.) awakens to discover he’s one of several people chained up in a dimly lit room. It sounds like the setup for yet another SAW knockoff, but PROTOS quickly distinguishes itself by introducing a science-fiction element. One of the confined individuals–one that John is actually chained to–is a hulking, violent brute wearing a mechanical headset that seems to control his behavior via variably colored lights in his eyes. That’s a simple but effective visual gambit, which is common to the approach of producers (with Mike Sharrak) and directors Brian and Laurence Avenet-Bradley as a whole.
Brian (who also scripted with genre author Simon Clark) and Laurence (who served as cinematographer) take the characters through a series of environments over the course of THE PROTOS EXPERIMENT, all of them spare in conception but evocative in execution. One of the most eerie is a darkened chamber in which a number of captives stand in ever-dwindling pools of light, while a bunch of those headsetted attackers lurk in the gloom, visible only by their eye-lights. In addition to John, the imperiled individuals include Kyra (Anja Akstin), Nev (Ricky Herrera) and Amber (Trista Robinson from THE HUMAN RACE and the Avenet-Bradleys’ previous ECHOES OF FEAR), a manic young woman clinging to a meowing cat toy that provides a few moments of humor amidst the grim scenario.
As the movie continues, the story resets a few times, and the central protagonist or protagonists don’t always stay the same. There’s a reason for these change-ups in the narrative–the one that won’t be revealed here–yet the filmmakers’ focus remains tight enough that we stay involved with our heroes’ plight. What can be said, since it’s evident from the beginning, is that they’re being manipulated by outside forces, and their attempts to escape eventually take them to exterior locations out in the California desert that are as stark and well-chosen as those interiors are unadorned and well-crafted. The filmmakers here make judicious use of drone photography to convey the sense that someone’s always watching them, and that their flight could be violently interrupted at any moment.
THE PROTOS EXPERIMENT sees the Avenet-Bradleys pivoting from their usual, often supernatural horror territory (as seen in the award-winning ECHOES and DARK REMAINS, among others) into the sci-fi realm. Even so, their emphasis remains on mood and tension rather than tech gimmickry; there’s just enough of the latter employed to make the necessary points, and their imagination is expressed in the way they elicit their strange and oppressive world on a very modest budget. In addition, they demonstrate their usual strong instincts in casting and guiding their actors. Akstin and Thomas make their characters’ struggles, both physical and mental, feel real, while Robinson gives good mania and Herrera adds to the interpersonal tension by making Nev the slipperiest of the roles. It’s sometimes hard for THE PROTOS EXPRIMENT’s characters to know who to trust, even as viewers can depend on the Avenet-Bradleys to keep them engrossed throughout.
