Twenty Twenty-Four – Indie Film Review
Synopsis:
A lone scientist maintains an underground bunker for the coming global nuclear disaster. But after becoming prematurely isolated, he slowly begins to question his own reality and whether he is truly alone. Director Richard Mundy’s immersive psychological thriller, is a tense and unsettling nightmare you’ll never be sure you’ve woken up from.
Review Summary:
Twenty Twenty-Four is an intense and thrilling roller coaster from beginning to end. Keep an eye out for director Richard Mundy because he has a bright future ahead.
The Good:
Andrew Kinsler as Roy – I know this is extremely obvious, but films that follow a single character depend on that actors ability to make the character interesting. This is exactly what Andrew Kinsler does. Kinsler’s performance draws the audience in and allows us to feel his emotions like we are going through the events with him.
Feeling of Claustrophobia – The entire movie takes place inside of an underground bunker. With this is the natural feeling of claustrophobia and wanting nothing else but escape. In the beginning, the bunker seems relatively large, especially for a single person. This is depicted on screen by having the camera farther away from the point of interest.
However, as the film intensifies, the bunker begins to feel more and more closed in. In these moments the camera is brought closer to the subject intensifying the claustrophobic feelings. This use of camera angles is nothing new, but combined with the story it is truly magnificent.
The Unknown – This is the mystery throughout the film. Roy doesn’t know what is happening, what is real, or what to do. We as an audience are completely locked into his viewpoint and thus are just as lost as he is. This unknown helps build the intensity and creates the thrill and horror.
The Use of Silence – Although there is only one main actor, there are two main characters in the film. One of which is an artificial intelligence that helps monitor the bunker named Arthur. Arthur doesn’t speak, but is depicted purely through text. This means the conversations between Roy and Arthur are filled with a lot of silence. Additionally, many times when Roy is working in the bunker he often isn’t talking, even to himself. So let’s just say that silence is a prominent occurrence in Twenty Twenty-Four. Normally these long stretches of silence can feel unnerving or even infuriating. While in this case it doesn’t change how it makes me feel, it does help intensify the situation. So while a silent movie can sometimes make a movie worse, it makes Twenty Twenty-Four even better.
Verdict:
Twenty Twenty-Four isn’t only one of the best indie films I’ve recently seen, it is perhaps one of the top 10 movies I’ve seen this year.
Awesome review. This sounds like a fantastic movie. I want to watch this. I love films like this that focus in a small number of characters are even one. The bunker situation reminds me of Desmond in Lost! This film sounds very tense!