By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Barrett Burgin
Starring: Curt Doussett | Emily Marie Palmer | Jyllian Petrie | Mason D. Davis | Michael Flynn | Morgan Gunter
Country: united_states
Year: 2022
Running time: 118
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8814500/reference/
Brett says: “CRYO is a science-fiction psychological thriller that borrows tidbits from previous sci-fi films, but some of these borrowings fly under the mainstream radar. In this case, the sci-fi considerations are effective as ideas and setting components that accompany the unique conflict at hand rather than a reliance on spectacle like so many big budget sci-fi movies undertake.
“The film opens with an inexplicable awakening of five individuals who have been in a cryogenic sleep chamber in some sort of underground complex. The initial problem is that none of them know how long they have been in there and only have vague memories of who they are and once were. The fear of the unknown is such an effective hook for the sci-fi genre since it is rooted in our own individual speculations about the future, time, and shifting societal meaning and values from generation to generation.
“The search for meaning among the characters in this situation is further complicated as there are indicators that point to the fact that the earth outside of the bunker may not be safe to explore. What few faded memories the characters do have set up a scenario of paranoia within the group, as their collective status in question can be traced back to an inventor who devised the need for cryogenic sleep among the group. However, none of them know which of the group members is said inventor, and whoever it is does not show any signs of being willing to confess. A living game of Clue ensues, thus a psychological heightening of the film’s tension and the crux of the plot.
“The film has noticeable makeshift props and visual elements that point toward a limited budget. But, on the flipside, the amount of creativity and resourcefulness in pulling off such an ambitious film on a low budget is commendable; the film is still very well-crafted visually to try to mask those limitations. Certainly, there are plenty of unanswered questions that the film glosses over or doesn’t address in developing the plot, but the director is clearly trying to keep the script as tightly knit as possible and not stray too far from the atmospheric build. On that note, I did catch myself thinking that the story itself would have been a very satisfying read in novel form. This is not to say that a cinematic depiction fails, but the limited amount of time in a feature film to cover a group of five people with amnesia and an environment that the audience has so many questions about requires some editing choices that a novel would be able to expand upon and develop slower and further. 3 cats out of 5
“Recommended for fans of ‘whodunnits’
“Recommended for fans of film-makers who overachieve (almost unbelievable that this is actually a student film and easily among the best executed feature-length student films I can ever remember seeing).”