Talent Keyhole

Kassandra works at a military research facility and joins secret project that tries to extract information from people's minds in this stylish and original indie movie. The story is about the blurring of reality and the filmmaking serves this theme in all its aspects. The look of the film is cool and distant with pared-down locations and sleek production design. The editing has startling jump cuts that make you question the reality of scenes. As both a spy and a sci-fi movie the cinematography evokes film noir and the neon aesthetic of hyper-stylized films set in the future.

The cast is movie star good-looking and sexy. Why can't I work in a place like this? The actors underplay their performances to fit into the overall cool aesthetic. Kris Luna as Kassandra and Karli Isabella Stunkel as Rachel make impressions as detached but motivated characters who surrender to the increasingly complex layers of this secret project. If anything, they might be a little too detached and the direction sometimes keeps too much a distance between them and the action.

But the director keeps this constant tone and it adds to the overall style of the film. This is definitely an original film and the director-filmmaker Michael Lauter is one to watch for his future projects.

Each frame of this film was so beautiful and cool, I felt like I was watching a masterful work of art. The sleek style, actors, makeup, set design, futuristic concepts, cinematography, color, lighting, editing and score all came together to create a gorgeous, cold, surreal world that was truly captivating. There were also some innovative, creative concepts in the story that I appreciated and the use of visual effects to tell these were so well done. There was quite a bit of government tech talk that would go over my head sometimes, but the visuals were so stunning, I continued to be enthralled. One of most beautiful looking films I've seen, like Darren Aronofsky level looks.

This story grows increasingly suspenseful as the main character Kassandra is read into a black Ops Government program that uses black mail and death threats to keep her from blowing the cover off this dark scheme. She only becomes more co dependent on her girl friend who shields her from the constant harassment and danger. Her sexuality is her only dark secret used against her. Yet the shadowy Government and CIA tries to corner her at every turn to prevent her from becoming a whistleblower. She is determined however to uphold her patriotism and values. Her will is compromised time and time again, as she battles to do whats right.

If you miss old SCI markings, are into short skirts & high heels, and love hearing the word 'quaternions' used in a flick, then this might be your B movie. Add to that art direction & cheesy music straight out of 'Liquid Sky' and you have all the makings of a modern day cult classic.

Giving it only 6 because of weird flat terrible acting, but come to think of it maybe that's the direction they were getting so it might not be all their fault.

I still need 150 characters so I need to mention the thigh highs and baby dolls which appear in almost every scene. I feel bad admitting this but that might be the real reason I like this movie so much - my bad!

With edge-of-the-seat plot twists and relatable characters, Talent Keyhole keeps you wanting more! Edgy Science Fiction with splashes of romance and action. I appreciated the attention to detail and intentional decisions made with regards to setting, wardrobe, cinematography choices. I also appreciated the research that went into accuracy and detail of all things military history and accuracy of security clearances. It is evident that the director knows his actors' abilities and has a close relationship with them. The suspense, tension, appropriate levels of action, and complex character development rendered this a must-see for not only sci-fi and military nerds.