Synchronic (2020)
Directed by Aaron Moorhead
Two New Orleans paramedics' lives are ripped apart after encountering a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects.
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5 films that influenced Synchronic
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An encounter with Synchronic’s mysterious creator reveals shocking details about the effects of the drug, and Brianna’s possible whereabouts, at which point Synchronic pivots from dark, atmospheric crime drama to idea-driven hard science fiction in the vein of Shane Carruth’s Primer .
The use of video diaries, whiteboards and time travel feel reminiscent of Primer with a dash more humor, thanks primarily to Steve’s partner in crime: his dog.
We can more or less divvy up time travel flicks into two distinct categories: Unrealistic, but fun ("Back to the Future," "Avengers: Endgame") or, in adhering more to the dense laws of physics, pretty impenetrable ("Primer," "2001").
Like their earlier genre picture “The Endless” (and its clearest influence, “Primer”), “SYNCHRONIC” can best be described as egghead indie sci-fi, in which the ideas are as exciting as the effects.
I suspect the directors are fans of The Crow (1994) from director Alex Proyas, a ghostly tale with similar familial themes, set in a disintegrating Detroit.
Having amassed a significant following after their critically acclaimed indie efforts, including 2014 breakout Spring and 2017’s The Endless (read review), there’s certainly enough offbeat incorporation of stimulating suggestions to evoke conversation in their latest venture.
Maria Lattila: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead first burst into the consciousness of genre film fans with their 2014 feature Spring which was described as Before Sunrise for horror fans.
In between, they melded cosmic horror with vacation romance in Spring, yet throughout there has been an underlying strand of lightness, of optimism (sometimes misplaced) about the human condition.
The minds behind The Endless , Spring and Resolution once again challenge their audience while pulling out all the stops in their pursuit to entertain, doing so with jubilantly spectacular aplomb.
Blending science fiction, crime drama and psychedelia, Synchronic is the wildly eccentric fourth film by American filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless , Spring ).
These guys have cultivated a small but loyal following on the backs of some go-for-broke indies that texture familiar human terrors with creative horror tropes (“Spring” might reductively be described as “Before Sunrise” with monsters, and “The Endless” as NXIVM in actual purgatory instead of just Albany), and even their less successful meditations on lost time offer compelling evidence that a decent budget is no match for a boundless imagination.
In the Source Code and Edge of Tomorrow variant of quick jumps back, it’s been science (man-made in one, alien the other) that has centered on sending a single actor (Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Cruise) to an earlier time frame to correct a situation (a bombing, an invasion).
Instead, they opt to make this a noir/sci-fi hybrid that calls to mind works like Bringing Out the Dead , Looper , Edge of Tomorrow and Altered States , all of which deal similarly with either mind-altering drug use or time travel.
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In the Source Code and Edge of Tomorrow variant of quick jumps back, it’s been science (man-made in one, alien the other) that has centered on sending a single actor (Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Cruise) to an earlier time frame to correct a situation (a bombing, an invasion).