Julien Neaves, Sci Fi Head Writer
Plot: A group of eight friends enjoying a dinner party begin to experience increasingly strange phenomena as a comet passes.
Review: Have you ever stumbled on a film and thought, “Wow. That was pretty dang good.” That was my experience years ago watching 2013 surrealist sci fi thriller Coherence written/directed by James Ward Byrkit in his directorial debut. One of the reasons the film may have flown below most people’s radars is the small cast features no big-name stars. Fantasy television fans would recognise Nicholas Brendon as geeky Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Elizabeth Gracen as sexy immortal thief Amanda from Highlander and short-lived spinoff series Highlander: The Raven, but that’s about it. The rest of the cast, including Emily Foxler who plays similarly named protagonist Emily, I had not seen before the film, nor have I recognised any of them in projects thereafter.
Coherence is also a masterclass in minimalist filmmaking. It is set in one main location — the home of the hosting couple Mike (Brendon) and Lee (Lorene Scafaria) — with only its small cast and features few visual or special effects. The cinematography is also quite tight and intimate, giving the impression of a documentary or a home movie. This feel is heightened by the relaxed, organic character interactions, which was created by Byrkit eschewing a traditional script and providing the actors only with their backgrounds and daily notes. It is quite the unique viewing experience and there are few other films like it.
This is the type of movie that the less you know going the more you will enjoy it, so I will be keeping this review as broad and as vague as possible. But Byrkit has such a well thought-out and clever script that he does so very much with so little. The mystery is a gripping one and each morsel of information is a delicious treat for the old brain. And the tension here is so expansive and thick that one would need a team of lumberjacks with chainsaws to cut through it. There are also so many twists, turns and tiny details that you will want to put down your phone and focus on what is happening. It is not as complex as say, time travel series Dark, (then again, what is?) but the more you pay attention to Coherence the more rewarding the experience and it is built for multiple viewings.
So, if you like intriguing cerebral Sci Fi and don’t mind a small budget and scope then definitely give Coherence a watch.
Editor Jules’ Score: 8 out of 10
Have you seen Coherence? What did you think of it? And you can check out more Sci Fi hidden gems below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by the Cryptkeeper, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “13 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.