When eight friends gather at a dinner party on the night a mysterious comet streaks over the night sky, strange things ensue, and not all of them easy to explain. It’s a mind bending game of who’s who and which plot puzzle pieces fit together in the sci-fi thriller Coherence. If you enjoyed similar high concept fare like Cube and Another Earth, this claustrophobic dramatic gem, which is likely to fly under even the indie radar, is right up your alley.
Tension is in the air at the house party thrown by Mike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Nicholas Brendon), even after everyone settles in for what should be a quiet night to play catch up. Em (Emily Foxer) wastes no time in sharing tales of arcane disasters that followed previous nights of the comet, which puts all on edge. Former relationships, missed career opportunities and buried distrust escalate as the comet’s fly-by inevitably kills cell phone reception brings forth a blackout.
At this point Coherence effectively slips right into the “trapped in a dark house” thriller mode. While paranoia escalates, the group notices a house within walking distance still has power. After Amir (Alex Manugian) and Hugh (Hugo Armstrong) return from a daring trek in the dark down the block to attempt to make an emergency phone call, things start to rapidly unravel.
Ominous spooks in the form of mysterious knocks on the door, acts of vandalism and cryptic numbered photos of themselves in a mysterious lock box point to the existence of doppelgangers somehow created by the passing comet.
As Coherence progresses into a relentless tense mind bender of “What If’s” and a roulette wheel of alternate possibilities, it keeps your brain working overtime as the group tries to out think the chain of events taking place within the physics defying ‘box’ they find themselves in. The neighborhood becomes a zone of incoherence that pushes the solid ensemble cast to delicate dramatic highs.
The high concept that propels the mystery will either pull you in or leave you befuddled. Director / screenwriter James Ward Byrkit goes for broke by throwing nothing less than a riddle based on quantum re-coherence at you. A what? This concept alone is intricately tricky enough to serve as a solid Twilight Zone-worthy twist ending. Not here though. Instead Byrkit doesn’t look back and successfully uses it as the main thrust of the film, easily making it one of the most though provoking films of the year that will require multiple viewings to see if and how it all fits together from A-Z.
To give much more away does the film a disservice. The concept of reality, identity and sanity are all put to the test in Byrkit’s dizzying dramatic maze which at time boasts a fantastic David Lynch-esque sense of chaos. It runs a tight 89 minutes which leaves little fat as far as pacing goes, and makes the most of its micro budget. Effective handheld camera work and minimal lighting help maintain the claustrophobic aesthetic.
Coherence pulls it all together as a surprising and stunning ride that will keep you on your toes by questioning every step taken by the characters. Repeat viewing will probably be on the docket for fans, and prove it to be a better ride the second or third time. The film presents impressive depth and handles its perceived logistical narrative among the sci-fi best mind benders in the genre that came before it.
Coherence begins a limited theatrical release on June 20th.
REVIEW RATING: ★★★★★
Director: James Ward Byrkit
Starring: Emily Foxler, Nicholas Brendon, Hugo Armstrong, Maury Sterling, Elizabeth Gracen
Screenwriter: James Ward Byrkit
Studio: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Rated: Not Rated
Running Time: 89 minutes
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