Parallel

Initially skeptical after seeing its unimpressive ratings, I reluctantly decided to watch this multiverse/time travel film after browsing through several user reviews. To my surprise, the movie captivated me with its unique, almost claustrophobic atmosphere, confined to a minimalistic setting with just three characters. Despite its apparent simplicity and limited scope, the film impressively explores its concept, pushing the boundaries of its narrative constraints.

It maintains a delicate balance between innovation and budget constraints, and I found myself wondering if its success was a stroke of luck or a testament to clever filmmaking. Unlike many avant-garde films that tend to meander and conclude on an unsatisfying note, this one managed to weave depth and intrigue throughout, compelling me to invest emotionally in all three protagonists-and their various iterations.

Given the complexity and the slow-burn nature of its storytelling, this movie might not resonate with everyone. It demands the right mood and moment-perhaps catching you in the perfect universe on the perfect evening, as it did with me. That night, I felt rewarded for my patience and was glad to see a film that didn't squander its potential. The industry's standard might hover around mediocrity, but this film stands out, deserving of much more than its initial 4.9 rating. Ultimately, I found myself struggling between 6 and 7 stars, but decided for a 7, appreciative of the heart, thoughts and risk invested by its creators, which set it apart from the pack. In a landscape where genuine innovation is rare, this film is a noteworthy exception.

Parallel depicts a woman, her husband, and his brother at ther late father's house deep in the woods. There is mention of the father's "crazy conspiracy theories" in their secluded area. The three appear to have some tension or conflict between them, especially the husband and wife. To escape this, thr wife goes for a walk into the woods and sees herself with a rifle, and this person shoots at her. The wife displays more emotional unsteadiness following this encounter.

That acting is well crafted if a bit overly emotive, but they are coping with a recent distressful situation. And the confusion of parallel worlds would be distressing as well. Production is good providing for a well-crafted visual prevention of home and woods.

But, the plot of loss, grief, and misery was too overwhelming for the seriousness of parallel worlds, and the sci-fi aspect complicated the sense of grief and loss without it adding anything to the film.

Yeah I really don't understand why the current rating is below 5.

Its a solid low budget sci-fi movie.

Yes, it took like 30 minutes to get going but after that it's a smooth sailing with drama, twists and all of that.

Cast is amazing. Which is no surprise considering all of the previous work of Aldis Hodge and Danielle Deadwyler.

Edwin Hodge also was a nice surprise, cause I only remember him in them Purge movies but he did a solid job here.

Yes, the other review is correct compering Parallel to Coherence sinse they both share a pretty similar premise. Although I gotta say that I found this one a little more tidy. Plus, again, the cast here is superb.

Anyway, give this movie a chance.

And, yes I'm going to tell right away - you can actually understand dialogue. Sound is clear, crisp and easily understood. No noise volume wars in this movie.

Cast is small, plot is simple, some things are a bit generic but it works. It's shot competently.

I'd wager this is a pretty small budget movie. But for what it does, it uses that budget smartly.

I don't like the cumulative score this movie has here. I don't understand it. It is not a bad movie. Yes, it's microbudgeted, small cast, not bombastic and the plot is pretty straightforward. Maybe people got bored during it, who knows.

In any case, I liked it.

Aldis and his brother Edwin wrote a good thrilling/horror, science fiction movie. I don't get the bad rating IMDB has. Possibly not enough watched it and reviewed it.

The movie takes place with three individuals staying in a lake house. Aldis Hodge plays the husband (Alex), Danielle Deadwyler plays his wife (Vanessa) and Edwin Hodge plays the brother of Alex (Martel). Vanessa and Alex have recently experienced the death of their son and are staying in martel's lake house for vacation. Vanessa decides to take a stroll through the woods when she encounters a multiverse experience, where she sees herself. However, this version of herself tries to kill her. She then goes back to the house as she tries to make sense of it, as well as dealing with her husband trying to move on from their dead son and the possibility of selling their house to have a fresh start. You also didn't find out. Later on, you find out that the father of Alex and Martel was someone who delved in physics and multiverse possibilities but disappeared.

This movie really deserves a watch because there are small factors in it that you really cannot talk about without spoiling it. The suspense and thrills in this project did not disappoint. Danielle did an excellent job playing a confused, angry and grieving mother trying to survive this ordeal. The subtleties and the elements involved made for a great movie that didn't spoon feed you all the answers and did not have to spend a lot of money to do it. There was no CGI or any other kind of special effects needed to tell this story, which was really refreshing. The conversations and relationships that all three of them had were absolutely believable and relatable. From one conversation, you hear that there were experiments happening in a facility in the woods where people went missing and caused the shutdown of said facility. This leads to Danielle going back into the woods to try to find something that can help her make sense of what she experienced. Upon doing this is when the movie really picks up as she has lost her way and is now trying to find her way back home. This is where the movie has its most thrilling moments, because you never know who she's going to encounter and if she is ever going to find her way back. You also understood Danielle's ulterior motive from a grieving mother standpoint, as she was also trying to find a universe where her son was actually still alive. I like the fact that you were never bored and it kept an even pace throughout the entire film.

I wish I had seen this movie sooner. Definitely worth a watch and owning on 4K.