Low-fi indie sci-fi is a surprisingly fertile sub-genre, something that can be traced back to classics like The Twilight Zone that lacked the budget for epic effects but used their limitations to explore big concepts. It’s a great place to showcase great film-makers who go on to bigger budgets, such as Rian Johnson did with Looper or Benson and Moorhead did with their body of work before being snatched into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latter have a specific connection to the latest ‘mumble-sci-fi’ to garner great word-of-mouth, Things Will Be Different, as it is written and directed by Michael Felker, who has edited all their films since Spring.
Joe and Sidney have an unconventional sibling reunion when they pull a bank robbery with the film beginning with them on the run as they make their way to an abandoned house that Joe has arranged to be their hideout. Just as it seems that the hideout isn’t as secure as we thought, Joe and Sidney enter a dark room, recite some Latin and next thing we know, they’ve travelled back in time by two weeks, allowing them to get away before they have even done the robbery. All they have to do is wait until their present selves are due to appear.
As you’d expect, the plan goes wrong when they are about to leave, but how it goes wrong is what makes the film special. While it played at Frightfest earlier this year, it isn’t strictly a horror but it certainly has a dread-inducing atmosphere as Joe and Sidney start to feel the presence of unseen forces. Leaving behind instructions through wooden carvings and conversations through a tape recorder, there is a horrible feeling that Joe and Sidney were trapped the second they stepped into the house but with little to explain how or why. Just enough detail is given to not feel frustrating while allowing the unease to permeate.
It also helps that the central characters that anchor the entire film are so well drawn. Adam David Thompson’s husky voiced Joe and Riley Dandy’s Sidney create a believable sibling relationship, formed in blood but weakened by absence. They bicker as a brother and sister would but there’s always a hint of mistrust, based on their past and the fact that they don’t really know each other that well; Joe even asks if they would still talk to each other if they didn’t have the same tattoo on their wrist.
When the paranoia sets in and the bright daytime gives way to cold darkness, things really start to unravel, giving new meaning to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The narrative shifts smoothly as concepts emerge out of each other but always with a focus on the central pair, the threats they face are test of their relationship and protectiveness of each other. Felker creates a solid and engaging sci-fi tale rooted in emotion and does incredible work with its limited resources. It fits perfectly in the tradition of science-fiction as a space for big ideas and big heart that should be on everyone’s radar.
Things will be different is available on VOD and Blu-Ray from Lightbulb Film Distribution
You can also watch Things will be Different on VOD
Mike’s Archive – Things will be Different
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