 Facets // Buy from Amazon.comFresh off a limited theatrical release and shot in Robo-monstervision, a black-and-white retro style reminiscent of old television series and even older movies, AUTOMATONS is a tip of the hat to the imagination and humanity of shows such as The Outer Limits and One Step Beyond. The deceptively simple cinematography evokes a time before big-budget CGI--and thus a time when theme and content were more important than empty action and special effects. The story focuses on a lone woman in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have been engaging in a futile war of competing philosophies and belief systems. Newcomer Christine Spencer stars as the Girl, who lives in a crumbling laboratory repairing outdated robots while fending off the destructive video beams of the Enemy Leader. Cult horror star Angus Scrimm (Phantasm) stands out as the Scientist who has seen it all. "Automatons" kicked my ass - I wasn't expecting much from a black & white "robots vs. humans" independent film, but I figured that at the very least, The Tall Man himself, Mr. Angus Scrimm, would be entertaining, so I could at least count on that. Well, that he was, but I was also very pleasantly surprised to find that I truly enjoyed this film - this one succeeds by making the most of it's super-low-budget nature to effectively create a very tense, doom & gloom production that succeeds because of its barebones, what-you-see is what-you-get sensibilities. Really, there's only 2 actors in this one - "The Girl" (who pretty much carries the film single-handedly) and "The Scientist" (Mr. Scrimm) - everyone else is just a PVC-armed robot. However, the effective use of black & white, powerful sound production and effective point-of-view cinematography blend together to create a film that instills a sense of dread and foreboding right from the start. Definitely not a feel-good flick, "Automatons" could have easily been a cheesy romp through no-budget land, but instead delivers an impressive piece of filmmaking that belies its low-budget nature. Video The fullscreen black & white presentation is intentionally bleak and "distressed" looking, with grainy and/or film damage-type filters used to give this movie a specific look & feel. Audio The Dolby stereo mix is decent enough, but at times I found myself having to adjust the volume knob up & down so I could make out all of the dialogue. Great special effects, however. Extras Closing Thoughts Very original, inventive and entertaining indie production + top-notch assortment of extras = highly recommended! |
