Hey folks, Harry here... seems that the guy who likes to get nailed... Massawyrm... has found a cool ultra-low budget Sci-fi flick that doesn't show its seams... Could it be... Has the annointed one truly found something cool? Well certainly sounds like it... read on....
Hola all. Everyone's Favorite Chain-smoking, Dr. Pepper Swilling, Indie schilling Christ Clone here with this weeks assortment of indie goodness. I've scoured the piles once more to bring you the latest and greatest in cutting edge indie fare. This weeks journey takes us through time in a way we haven't quite seen before. So let's get into it.
Ahhhh...low budget sci-fi. I've been getting my fair share of that lately, and I can't say I'm upset about that fact either. Next to zombie movies, it's the second largest genre of film I receive. Now most of the time the movies are severely flawed and usually in the same way. When one of these films fails it's because the film's scope attempts to go much further than the budget will allow. And it shows. Cheesy special effects, done digitally at home are often used at the expense of the film rather than working for it. The thing about science fiction is this: in order for it to work, you have to be immersed in the setting, you have to believe that what you are seeing is possible or even plausible in the mechanics of the world set to the screen. Unfortunately CGI done on most computers, except when done by the most talented of special effects genius's, tends to give the look of shoddy low budget filmmaking (even when sometimes they are expensive effects). That's why I get so excited when I see films like "Twelve", which I reviewed a few weeks back here CLICK and "Happy Accidents" which my old war buddy Quint so eloquently reviewed here CLICK . These are low budget sci-fi films that put story and characterization before effects, giving us rich, realistic modern day worlds, all the while spinning us tales of what could-be. And all this on a budget.
And thus I present to you Teo Konuralp's "Feedback", an ultra low budget sci-fi thriller with a cool edge and an interesting storyline. Now to start this off, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I popped this one in. I read the press kit that came with it and honestly I kinda giggled when I first read the premise. It's basically about someone who steals an experimental phone that can call the past. Okay, you know, that's just plain silly. How on earth can anyone make a cool film out of a concept like that? Well, I laid myself out on the floor of the Casa de la Wyrm in front of the old Indie Box and let Teo Konuralp show me how. And boy did he.
In most stories like this the plot runs as follows: Protagonists discover powerful device, goons try to get it for the EVIL MASTERMIND, heroes use the device to escape then decide the device is too powerful for humans to have and destroys/stashes it for all eternity.
Not "Feedback". No. This is a movie about a couple of low-rent hoods who happen to come across a brand new marvel of technology and immediately set about trying to use it for their own gain and get in way over their heads. What's really great about this is that it takes ideas from movies like "Happy Accidents" and "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" a step further than we usually see them. You know how you sit around wondering after those films "Well what if they did this? What would Happen?" Well, "Feedback" covers all the bases, showing us the outcome and aftermath of each individual tampering with time. This movie is just chock full of paradox as these three hoods interfere with the flow of time to make some cash and save their own asses everytime they do something stupid. It's a great mix of slick modern noir and cutting edge cerebral sci-fi.
This baby just looks plain slick. Some gorgeous cinematography blended with a thumping electronica and industrial soundtrack that makes for one hell of a cool indie flick. Every shot feels perfectly crafted. Every piece of music drives the images deeper into your skull. Everything just comes together in this to make it worth checking out based solely on the merit of "Feedback" as a film. But here's where things get really cool. "Feedback" was shot on 35mm. And it was made for $35,000.
Let me let that sink in a moment.
35mm. $35,000.
Any of you out there right now saying "So What" don't know how much 35mm film costs. It's expensive. Really Expensive. Along with processing, equipment rental and various sundry costs that leaves, oh about, nothing. Nothing but sheer talent, something this movie has attached to it in spades. What Teo Konuralp did with such limited funds makes him someone to watch. It boggles my mind just thinking about what he would do with a million dollars. Or 10 million. Dear Lord my head is spinning...
Okay, I'm better now. I just get excited when I get to experience talent like this early on. I mean, this is "El Mariachi" type stuff we're looking at here. Quality product at bargain basement prices. Wow. I love independent cinema.
When this film comes your way, check it out. I guarantee you you'll see it at a festival near you, if it hasn't gotten some kind of distribution bringing it to a local theatre. Keep an eye on this guy folks. I have a feeling about this one.
But since it's not readily available at the moment, why don't you take a gander at this cool freaking website for the film chock full of stills, chunks of the soundtrack, a slide show of the opening sequence and other fun things to play around with while waiting for one of the Independent houses to pick this up and show it to you. Find all this here FeedBackFilm.Com
Well, thats it for me this week folks. I'll be back next week with Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter and whatever else comes up between now and then. Until then, smoke 'em if ya got 'em. I know I will.
MASSAWYRM
