MAGNETIC
On December 31st, at 11:58:07 PM Coordinated Universal Time, Earth will have its atmosphere ripped to shreds by the largest directed coronal mass ejection in the history of the galaxy. These forces will shatter the protective layer on the once stable, life-sustaining planet in an instant. Everything we know will become nothing. Maybe it already has. After failing in NYC, Alice grabs her mixtapes and returns to her desolate, rural hometown. There, she finds a job in an office located hundreds of feet underground, concealed beneath a sheep farm. Alice must piece together her memories, her dreams, and the space-time continuum itself to find out why she is so essential to the preservation of all life on Earth.
Director: Sophia Cacciola, Michael J. Epstein
Writers: Sophia Cacciola, Michael J. Epstein
Stars: Allix Mortis, Chris Bernardi, Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Rating: 8 / 10 Stars
REVIEW – As people may or may not know, I am a judge for three horror festivals. One of my film fests had a film for me to judge called “Blood of the Tribades”. This film made an impression on me. It was low budget but it was so creative and unique. I remember putting on my ballot. “I can see these directors really becoming a big deal very soon.”. These directors being Sophia Cacciola and Michael J Epstein. I was quite surprised to find out they did a science fiction film that is out now by Wild Eye Entertainment. I hate to call a 15 grand budget a low budget, because by indie standards that is like a million Warner Brothers dollars. MAGNETIC has a charm from the unpredictability and confusion. This film wants to bathe in confusion while giving off a soundtrack of alternative bliss by Night Kisses. (Which you can get for “free” on Bandcamp) Sophia and Michael make nothing easy for the viewer. They want people to interpret what they may. We learn that there are some solar flares heading towards Earth in about a week. This film has the modern feel of science fiction. We have the alternative realities and time travel elements in the open. This story explores a very untraveled road to cover this story. It feels that they threw convention out the window in favor of a meshing of music put to isolated boredom of the main character. This film challenges the viewer to follow as the story is never simple to follow or interpret. We meet Alice, who seems to be our hope to save us. She is a woman whose life seems to revolve around music playing and sitting alone in a cubicle. Her job it seems is telling loved ones that a family member has died, in almost a robotic heartless way. Her week seems to end when she goes back in time one week.
The best way to describe this film is, a controlled insanity. I love when people do not follow convention, and these two seem to diving in that deep pool a lot. Much like “Tribades,” this film hangs on what the audience gets out of it. I feel for people who love the genre of science fiction, will love that this film really makes the viewer put thought into it. The soundtrack much like the film “Drive,” becomes a character all in itself. I felt the acting was questionable, but I am not sure how anyone could sell this film any better. When the film was over, I was trying to figure out what I just watched. When you can leave a film and put thought into trying to figure out what just entertained you, that has to be seen as a positive. How many people left a Superhero film this year, and tried to figure out the plot and story but yet were entertained? I am dying for people to see this film and see what they take out of it. This has to be the most challenging film of 2016. Wait a second, so was Blood of the Tribades. I have to recommend this insanity. Great Soundtrack as well. This film could be the poster child as to why we need to legalize all street drugs.
MAGNETIC | Official Trailer: