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.

If you took an early 80's David Cronenberg flick and say...something like "Gattaca" the result is "Talent Keyhole" There is some Christopher Nolan "Inception" and 1980's "Dreamscape" thrown in there as well.

Though the title itself doesn't give you a clue as to what it means, they do mention the what it is within the movie itself (I love when they say the title in the movie).

The aptly named Kassandra (Kris Luna) works at a top secret facility that specializes in tapping into minds. She has the skill of seeing into the minds of people and this place utilizes it to find out the reason for a terrorist attack. Enter Rachel (Karli Stunkel), a girl whose parents were killed by an attack in the German metro. Things get hairy when this place also gets hold of a alleged terrorist (Dustin Harvey) who may have knowledge of the event.

Not giving anything away, but they band together to figure out the origins of why. But more importantly, are chased by the shady complex that runs this.

Director Michael Lauter has elected to use a stilted brand of dialogue that may turn some viewers off. The language is stiff and stylized. The blase delivery adds to the sterile nature of the world they live in. The not so near fututre? Once you accept this, it becomes somewhat of a somnambulatic journey.

I appreciate these movies so much, because it feels like a late night cable flick you discover. A Cannon Films production that plays more elevated. There is a TON of information being mined through science and characters that seem primed for cinema. Kay is a sharp cookie. Though a lot of her dialogue seems written, she delivers it with a straightforward nature devoid of emotion. A Stepford wives quality to her. Easy to look at. Meanwhile, her counterpart, Karli is equally as attractive. They seem to be chosen for the end shots that will make sense. They also seem to be drawn to each other which will heighten the sexual tension. Perhaps this was not the motivation, but it sure got my attention.

The movie is hypnotic. It's not surprise the production company is named Sleepwalking. That is precisely what it feels like. A dream of some sort. As the trio go on the lamb, you feel the empty streets, colors of the town and the dream quality of the world.

The "clean" nature of the world adds to the unease. That the future is being monitored by unseen entities to keep you in line. Throughout the flick, the quick video glitches remind you we are also monitoring them.

If you are a Cronenberg fan, I highly recommend!

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!

Every scene in this film is a visual masterpiece! The soundtrack is fun, upbeat and the performances are solid all the way around. Great for Sci-Fi fans or anyone who loves indie films and cutting edge cinematography. The way ordinary places are transformed into high energy scenes is craftsmanship at its finest. A believable storyline mixed with new age concepts is what makes this film work so well. The characters develop in a way that keeps you guessing all the way until the end. The fashion and make-up coordinator also deserves a shout out for giving these actors the right fit. Highly recommend!

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.