Flashburn

Post-apocalyptic stories add an extra level of difficulty in storytelling and to deliver a world that has ended. This movie avoids the cliché of focusing on the circumstances of surviving in this world and rather focuses intrinsically on a kidnapped scientist and his efforts to discover a cure for the monster he created which destroyed most life on the planet. A story of this caliber requires competent direction so the audience can enjoy the story as it is told. Another strong point of this project is the realistic acting of the main character, portrayed by Sean Patrick Flanery; his contribution to the film is essential. His acting is exceptional and speaks a lot for his experience as an actor as well as director Giorgio Serafini's mastery in guiding his actors to achieve what he has envisioned. Overall the film is very entertaining, the story line is both enjoyable and well-delivered, and it is a fantastic source of inspiration to all independent filmmakers.

This is not a sci-fi thriller. It is a tedious, mawkish 2-dimensional linear script mess.

I'm not sure which film garnered the high scoring reviews under the title 'Flashburn' but I'm pretty sure it was not the one I watched.

Not sure where to start? The story might have been intriguing for a 15 minute short, woefully inadequate for the 90 minute snoozefest. As it stands, it is repetitive and requires far too much 'tell' and not enough 'show' to make things move. The plot reversals are amateur at best, and again, repetitive.

Dialogue is strained, and the 'computer voice over' both annoying and yes, repetitive. The script itself is basic, not a lot of acting skills required, and most of it is delivered in either excited (and repetitive bursts) or wondering monotone.

Production values are as low as one can get, but they did make good use of what they had, most scenes had plastic sheets and diffuse lighting as the backdrop and the empty run down warehouse did create an atmosphere, just not a very good one.

The acting was good, unfortunately limited by both script and dialogue. The two main actors had good range and delivery, their performances giving a weak film some structure.

On a positive note, for those involved in this film, they can only move onto better things.

Would I recommend this film? Hell no.

I would have no hesitation in recommending this sci-fi thriller to any moviegoer looking to bite their nails completely off their fingers! Flashburn is a clever, heart-pounding thriller that keeps you questioning what's real. The anticipation kicks off from the first scene and then spins you around with a plot twist that leaves you with your mouth open. The characters have great chemistry but you can feel the secrecy that hides behind the tension. The main actress (Cameron Richardson) did an amazing job selling a compelling character with sinister moments that makes the audience question if we can trust her. She complements the main character and runs the plot into an unexpected twist.

If one looks at the "sparkling" reviews here it will be noticed they were all left within 2 days of one another. Far from being a 9 & 10-star film, this is a plodding, boring, illogical piece of nonsense that makes "straight to DVD" look like an Oscar winner.

Being already aware from the summary that the main character is looking for a cure to the virus... early in the film he is prevented from going outside a building because he "may be exposed". Yet almost immediately he finds himself in the company of an infected victim, with apparently no concern that she's exposing him every second he's with her. It goes downhill from there.

When a film relies on fake reviews to catch attention, that tells us a lot about its quality from the beginning. Be warned: this is a SyFy-quality film that will have you yawning within the first 20 minutes. If you take anything away from it at all... it will be a nice nap.

This is a cool flick. Some of the gun flashes look hokey, but the overall feel of the the film was interesting and worth the watch.