Idaho Transfer

The film is unusually well written, one of the more thoughtful sci fi films. Esp if you get frustrated by bloated excuses for FX and empty attempts to be "gritty."

The problem obviously is, virtually everything else about the film. Poor direction, no budget, unknown actors who are a mix of needing a chance to show what they can do, and should never act again.

You find yourself constantly wishing this were remade with a better director with a budget. But it's still interesting enough that I watched to the very end, wanting to see what happens.

I haven't seen this film since it was first released, but can remember being particularly impressed by what a fine example it was of low budget, higher than average concept sci-fi. Not unlike an extend above the norm Twilight Zone episode, there were no stunning sets, or even matte paintings as I can recall, but very effective use of location at the Mountains of the Moon National Monument in Idaho---why hasn't anybody shot anything else there since?

Briefly the story revolves around a group of student scientists who have developed a time travel portal which delivers them to the same locale some few decades in the future. Discoveries are made, things happen, etc.; of necessity I can tell you little more without spoiling, what other reviewers rightfully refer to as the "punch line". I'd say it was positively Swiftean in its social satire as the best science fiction often is. Idaho Transfer is a wry, tragic, amusing, horrific, cautionary little tale somewhere between the much-upon-us worthiness of "Silent Running", and the full-blown apocalyptic satire of "A Boy and His Dog", and certainly deserving of the same cult status. It is also, I believe, Peter Fonda's directorial debut, and would be of interest to his fans for that reason alone.

The only reason I saw this film was due a mistake. I mistook the UK title, Deranged, for the 1974 Ed Gein flick. I was hoping this would be one of those great 'happy accidents', but unfortunately; it wasn't. Peter Fonda's Sci-Fi adventure has a good premise, but the plot fails to capitalise on it due to the fact that it's completely pointless. Screenplay writer Thomas Matthiesen doesn't seem to know where to go with his post-apocalyptic theme, and so what we get left with is a lumbering 'survivors' theme, tied in with something to do with time travel. The idea behind the central plot is that bunch of researchers travel into the future in order to discover what it is that has wiped out humanity. However, they soon become stranded and after uncovering some evidence, discover that maybe mankind hasn't been wiped out completely. Idaho Transfer actually gets off to quite an intriguing start; but it quickly dries up, and the middle of the film is much like watching paint dry. The plot picks up towards the end; when it pretty much self-destructs.

The film is directed by Easy Rider star, Peter Fonda, and to be fair; he does quite a good job. Fonda creates a good impression of a post-apocalyptic world. The environments are always desolate, and create a sense of hopelessness in the viewer. It's just unfortunate that the plot is desolate also. Peter Fonda doesn't appear in front of the camera and the lead role goes to Kelly Bohanon. None of the cast really stands out, and Bohanon is no different. Keith Carradine is the only name I recognise on the cast list and his performance is nothing special. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of seventies Sci-Fi; it doesn't age well, and these days the 'futuristic' computers look like they wouldn't be out of place in the Stone Age. I can't really say that it's a shame this film isn't very good; it hasn't got a great deal going for it anyway, but it definitely could have been a bit better, and its poor plotting that has made it lose out at the end of the day. I can't really say that there's anything to recommend this film for, and as it's not easy to come by; I don't recommend going out of your way to find a copy.

'Idaho Transfer' marks Peter Fonda's second experiment as a director. It is a hippie science-fiction film that explores another idea of time traveling. The premise is quite intriguing - scientists accidentally discover the time travel and that some mysterious ecological catastrophe wipe out the human civilization not so far in the future. Time travel have some side effects - adults develop kidney hemorrhage, so they die soon after the experience. After that the scientists decide to send only teenagers into the future to build new civilization. Soon, the government takes over the project and time travel machines are turned off, trapping a group of project members into bleak future. The story includes couple of devilish plot twists that I don't want to spoil here as they are actually good ones.

Unfortunately the interesting ideas are executed sloppily, as the screenplay is underdeveloped and director quite doesn't manage to tie everything together leaving many blanks unfilled. As most of the cast were not professional actors the acting is uneven and occasionally wooden, but it is compensated by gorgeous cinematography and scenery shots.

By far not the greatest science-fiction movie by the icon of counterculture and indi filmmaking, but original and interesting enough to give it a shot.

"Idaho Transfer" takes an extraordinary premise and places it in a nonchalant story line. Almost everything seems pedestrian and laid-back, as if time travel could be as common and ordinary as hopping on the log flume at Six Flags. The dialogue is so "wild" and "far out" that one can feel one's self transported back to 1973 (the year Peter Fonda directed this cult classic) -- I could sense my hair follicles growing longer as I watched the film. Yet, this is a movie about people traveling into the future.

"Idaho Transfer" is riveting because it is filled with unpredictable and unexpected moments. It is a cross between an idiotic mess and a brilliant masterpiece (a veritable vision). Personally, I thought it was one of the most realistic time travel flicks I have seen. I give it high praise for bringing believability to the time travel concept. The time machine itself was designed by scientists and created in a realistic-looking laboratory environment. Traveling through time in said machine was not "smooth sailing" -- there were bugs in the machinery (it was the '73 Chevy Nova of time machines), but bugs there SHOULD be in such a complex machine! Fascinating is the quick transformation from advanced civilization to the primal lava/desert future. Intense was the ending, with a final few minutes so much more exciting and interesting than the ending to a low budget flick has a right to be. The final scene brings the whole idiotic mess/brilliant vision together in a way that nobody could possibly expect. Then, just when you wonder if the ending is one of the stupidest you've ever seen to a film, you give it a second thought and realize -- "Hey, what a 'wild' and 'far out' ending! We've not come too far since caveman days, and we've not too far to go to get to the point where we will think that 1973 was prehistoric times." Maybe we are already at that point?

When I sat myself down to watch "Idaho Transfer" my expectations were very low -- I expected to be left with an empty feeling. This film far exceeded my expectations and was literally fueled with dynamism right up to the bitter end.