The Sunderland Experiment

An exploration of Western boredom, religion, drugs, and freedom.

There is an alien that attempts to make people conform via ritual, there is crime and fitting but arbitrary punishment, and there is exile and death all set in almost post-apocalyptic desert ruination. A little gross, but not too gross. The characters are as unreal as the place and just as disturbing, but they are all honest to the point of hurting through their interpellation, ignorance, and resulting quirks.

No tropes or overwritten moments in this one - I never knew what was going to happen next. It's not fun or pretty, but it's obvious that there was a real thinking human who made the movie.

Exile is such a strange little creature and the front cover is highly deceptive! Telling the tale of a small society governed by a being referred to as an angel the citizens reach a point of their studies where they have to choose whether to be "blessed" which will have them merge with an alien entity or "fall" which means they'll be exiled.

Following one young man as he makes his decision and the impact on those around him.

Truth be told it's not the simplest story to follow and there is little background given forcing heavy interpretation and assumption but regardless the concept is really quite good.

Flawed in several areas the movie certainly isn't without its faults but provides a unique tale that certainly got my attention.

The Good:

Brilliant concept

The Bad:

Could have been made a tad better

Story is riddled with holes

Finale was pretty weak

There's a lot that can be said about this film. It's not great, and definitely not without flaws - in some cases, you can poke a hole big enough to sink a small boat. But this is one of the few films that I can honestly say, by the end, I was left reveling in what the filmmakers got RIGHT, that what flaws were noticeable melted into back of my mind. If you want an indie low-budget sci-fi film that doesn't follow the mold, give it a shot. This has the makings of a cult classic. It pays homage to Cronenberg and Lovecraft - not to oversell it, but it's weird and not soon forgettable. You've come this far, so hit the play button.

This ultra-low budget sci-fi horror has a lot of originality put into it and is experimental in the extreme, creating its own world in a very basic environment. Along with this the film leaves a lot of blanks for the audience to fill in about the state of the world and what caused it, but that all works to its credit.

One gripe viewers could have is with the editing as it comes across as sloppy and jarring, although this might have been by design, but in either case it takes away from the viewing experience. Also the story, while original, lacks focus and it is easy to get lost in all that is happening. The film also takes very little time to pause and let the audience get to know its characters and so they feel a bit disconnected.

Overall this is a film with a lot of good ideas and I hope the writer/director gets to go onto more things as they clearly have talent. With more money and scope this film could have been something akin to District 9, as it is there is a little too much confusion and limitations to be truly great, but it certainly has a lot of potential and for what it lacks it makes up for in originality.

I wasn't expecting much from this but was pleasantly surprised, this movie is quite a gem. It's very original and interesting, the pacing is good and the practical effects and CGI are quite competent. Unlike a lot of other indie films in the same budget range it's never boring, and it always shocks and intrigues you into wanting to see what happens next.

The characters are very well written and believable. There's a lot of bizarre and frightening things happening, but they seem to accept it all as normal because they don't know any different. They have no understanding of the outside world because they've been isolated and kept ignorant. You actually care what happens to them as their characters develop and they learn horrible truths about their existence.

If you like indie sci-fi or horror films you'll probably like this one. It's relentlessly weird and bleak, and it will keep you interested till the end. I will definitely be watching the next film these guys make.