Next up on the Fantasia docket was
Graham Skipper's Sequence Break.
After playing an old arcade game that
mysteriously shows up at his repair shop, Oz's (Chase Williamson) hold on reality begins to slip.
Skipper is part of a collective of
filmmakers that have made several indie horrors (Almost Human, The
Mind's Eye) in the last few years that I wasn't struck by,
but this premise was just too intriguing to pass up. I'm glad I did because I liked this one quite a bit. When the instantly recognizable
ships from Galaga flashed across the opening credits, I was like,
okay I'm in, whatcha got?
If 2015's The Mind's Eye was a take on
David Cronenberg's Scanners, then Sequence Break was Skipper's
interpretation of Videodrome, switching out VHS & TV's with
arcade games. However, I believe that this piece succeeded where the
former failed. Even with some Lovecraftian and cyberpunk elements
mixed in with the Cronenberg, Sequence Break did not overextend
itself past its means. Boasting only five characters and largely one
location, it allowed itself to be intimate, yet visually stimulating
at the same time.
The practical effects (once again
recalling Videodrome) were well executed and tactile and the synth
score by Van Hughes was perfect. The indie horror scene has been
saturated with eighties homages, but this one came off to me, as one
of the most sincere. These retro efforts largely tend to rely on
nostalgia and while they are often fun, do come off a bit surface-y.
In Sequence Break, those aforementioned elements were complimentary,
but it was the relationship between Oz and Tess (Fabienne Therese)
that kept me invested.
Chase Williamson as Oz in Sequence Break |
Which leads me to Williamson and
Therese, reunited after working together in 2012's John Dies at the End. I thought their chemistry here was fierce and their relationship
endearing. Maybe it was just the hope that someone like Tess exists
in the world. I'm not necessarily convinced of that. My friend tells
me I don't know enough women. Perhaps that is true. All I do know is
that Therese is racking up an impressive list of genre credits so a
breakout role is surely imminent.
Sequence Break was a solid indie sci-fi
romance that is by far the best thing his crew have put out into the
world. It rose beyond mere homage where retro-gaming was an entry
point, but not the only driving force of the story. If Skipper's
compatriots are smart, they will follow his lead going forward.
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