Theo Robertson
!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!! I vaguely remembered TRIANGLE and how the story panned out , a mind bender of a story with history constantly repeating itself so much so that the protagonist finds herself in a never ending hell of sorts , but it wasn't really reminded of it while watching EXIT LOG . The one film I was reminded of course was Kubrick's 2001 . That was certainly very influential as a science fiction movie but despite it being heresy to say so 2001 was a case of Kubrick style over very little substance . Plea to directors . Every time you make a science fiction film with a long lingering establishing shot of a space ship travelling through the galaxy can you please stop classical music playing on the soundtrack ? It wasn't all that impressive to begin with and 45 years later it's gone beyond convention and become cliché . Thanks in advance As mentioned elsewhere the story and exposition just does enough to give the information about a plot device that can turn back time for three minutes . Notice that I said " just enough " because it doesn't do much more beyond this except to set up the shock plot turn at the end which while you might not see coming you'll know the mechanics of the plotting will lead to an ending involving time going backwards . That said it does contain good production values but you are struck that for a short film involving a high concept plot such as this might have done more with the ideas put forward
bob the moo
It is impossible to discuss this film without even hinting at something that would spoil it so I shall just jump in and do so. If you have seen the 2009 film Triangle with Melissa George, you will know there is a moment where we see lots of necklaces in a drain, showing us how often what we are seeing has occurred and that not only are the event horrific, but they are infinitely repeating like some sort of hell. That point is the end point of this film as the reveal is that the time reset has been done and done and done by the two crew, always for the first time and always realizing it too late.As an idea it is mostly nicely done and I found it compact and pretty satisfying as a delivery and a conclusion – with just some issues. The first problem I had was that the time reset in theory would not allow the switches to remain existing together in the same time in the way that they do – I guess the hope was that the twist in the tale would come quickly enough and be good enough to cover that. The bigger issue I had was that it felt almost too compact. I could have used a bit less time playing cards and some time added to the dialogue after the explosion. This scene is where the pressure is and although it is good, it could have been tighter, more tense and more impacting; as it is I think it comes and goes too quickly and although the twist is good, it should have been more of a gut punch to understand that this drama is something they will live probably forever.The actresses are part of that; they were good and the film is about them, but they would have done more if they had been given it and it is a shame they were not. The effects in the film are very good, with a nice opening shot and good interiors – but I particularly liked that the film never became about showing off what is possible with a computer, it never felt like a showreel for effects. Ultimately Exit Log feels familiar in its conclusion but yet still works well enough for a compact little short – I just would have liked a bit more ratcheting up of the tension n the way though.