The Phoenix Project (2015) Reviews

• Of mice and men

  aldiboronti2015-01-18

  But mainly mice. OK, firstly, despite the subject matter, this is not a horror movie. Which is fair enough, I enjoy good thoughtful SF. Problem is that this isn't that either. Let me give a rundown of the plot. Some guys get together on a project to bring the dead back to life. We watch them painstakingly trying to reanimate dead mice and rabbits. Did a whisker just twitch there? No. Back to the drawing-board. Finally they succeed in bringing Bugs Bunny back. He seems fine. Hey, maybe this will go somewhere now, I thought. I glance at the time. The movie has less than 10 minutes running time left. The whole film has been taken up by the rodents, sketchy attempts at character development and dialogue less than gripping. OK, now the director figures he'd better deliver something. Guy who's desperate to bring his dead sister back offs himself so his pals will be forced to try human reanimation. They succeed but their buddy looks around as if he's seeing the world for the first time and doesn't speak. They smash the machine. The end. All the above takes place in the space of a few minutes, including their instant diagnosis that their friend isn't merely in shock. I certainly am. Did I just watch a film in which the characters spend most of the time gazing intently at dead mice and bunnies? I did. You don't have to. And would you believe not even a single girl to ogle when bored (which is most of the time.) Avoid.

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• Putting the Science back in Science Fiction

  Drive-in_Zeppelin2015-02-17

  I love me a slow, dull movie where the characters are more concerned with just standing around talking about things rather than having big action sequences. No I'm being completely serious, I love my sci-fi long and drawn out with a haunting indie score. Just look at Solaris or Stalker. Not a movie meant for your average movie-goer though The Phoenix Project is a modern day homage to Frankenstein and one that would make Mary Shelley proud. It's exactly what I needed to in a low budget sci-fi and one that will leave you feeling a little hollow but encapsulated by its bleakness. When four scientists move into a home to begin a project of raising the dead via their ingenious machine, tensions flare as the project becomes more about personal ambitions, career obsessions and underlying motivations rather than simply breathing new life into a dead mouse. Directed by Tyler Pavey, this film as previously mentioned isn't flashy. You'll get no scenes akin to Dr. Frankenstein screaming 'IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE! MY GOD IT'S ALIVEEEEEEEEEE!'. You'll get no monster terrorizing the countryside.You'll get four dudes doing science in a garage and you'll like it consarnit! This movie is concerned with the relationships between the scientists as they deal with the frustrations of scientific advancement, the tensions associated with limited grant money and getting their tests exactly right, and most importantly the flair of temperaments from living in such close proximity to each other throughout the project. I believe the alternative title is something like 'Technology with unexpected consequences' and that's basically the best way to summarize the film. It's a film that questions morality in scientific advancement and reveals the unintended ramifications of trying to blaze new trails. Decently acted, the four main characters show extreme levels of chemistry on screen as the story waxes and wanes through collusion, comradery, and eventually collapse. The story is character development at its finest as we see a spectrum of emotions from all four scientists as they each have to confront their personal demons and are pushed to the brink in order to achieve immortality both in terms of their scientific contributions and more literally with the success of their reanimation project. If you like minimalist science fiction you'll love this film. If you adored the story of Frankenstein for reasons other than the monster you'll love this film. It's a character driven plot with masterful levels of human drama and it all takes place in a 2,500 sqft home. I encourage you to watch the credits in their entirety and just let that level of creepiness sink in if you still wish it were more like Frankenstein. Read the full review and others like it on the Drive-in Zeppelin Website

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• Worth watching, but definitely slow.

  shawn40042015-05-18

  Make no mistake about it, this is a slow movie. I'm not sure if the other reviewers expect all movies to be action movies or what. In my opinion, a slow movie can be good, and this is one of them. I won't rehash the plot, you know the gist. What I will say is that the acting is good, the premise is good, and the payoff is good. I haven't seen a movie about re-animating corpses that had this twist, and I liked it. Be forewarned though, don't watch this movie just for a previewed payoff in the end. It is a bit of a surprise, but this isn't an M. Night Shamalamadingdong movie. I really dig these lower-budget, indie sci-fi movies, but mostly they fall short of being good. This one didn't. Worth watching, but definitely slow.

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• Is this a student project?

  robcooper20012015-01-19

  A terrible boring going nowhere film. Not even a "pet Cemetery" moment at all. Save yourself. The guys hole up in a rented house and conduct reanimation projects. They fail several times before the lead student cheats by moving the subject on the pretence of success even for a limited time. They then find out the lead had tried this before and been caught by the faculty. One of the participants has a brain dead sister and reviving her is his hidden agenda.... The group breaks down from the lies and deceit. But a couple manage to revive a rabbit - hazel from Watership Down i think. In order to convince the other guys it could work, he commits suicide and forces them to "do him" They revive the guy with great success. Except he has his mind "wiped".... Derrr...!!! He does not go on a rampage, eat people, become violent, speak in a cryptic ancient language, spout Einsteinian intellect. Nothing. He is just dumb. They pack up and leave. And the film ends. The suspense is incredible. But it finally ends... Thanks be to god.

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• I liked it...

  avi8trgal2015-02-16

  I honestly can not believe so many were disappointed with this film. I thought it was well written and well acted. I am a science geek so maybe that is why I enjoyed it more than most. It did move slowly, but that is the type of film it was meant to be. It was more about getting to know and staying attached to the characters. I loved the fact that they had moral issues with the experiment and were not afraid to voice that. There can be a very fine line between Science and Moral issues and they a good job depicting those emotions.. I thought it was a very powerful, emotional moving film. I agree with the others about the end. I sure wish it would have ended on a better note..

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