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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	2004
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Shane Carruth
Genre:	Low-fi sci-fi
Starring:	Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/
Tagline:	If you always want what you can't have, what do you want when you can have anything?
Favourite line:	"Man, are you hungry? I haven't eaten since later this afternoon."

Strange and surreal low-fi sci-fi tension is what we have here.

The plot:
Four budding entrepreneurs are building a device in one of their garages, though the exact nature of the contraption is unclear to begin with. As the project develops, two of their number realise that they are onto something potentially huge, a scientific discovery or breakthrough that could prove game-changing for our society, but decide to keep the secret to themselves, not letting the others know of their suspicions.
Gradually, as the true nature of the device is revealed, and the pair put it to use to try to swell their bank accounts, unforeseen problems arise and, with each step they take to put things right, things spiral ever further out of control.

A deliberately obtuse summary of the plot there, as to reveal any more would be to ruin the drama.
A slow burning, thought provoking slice of low-budget edginess, that raises more questions that it answers, and never for a second treats the viewer like an imbecile, this is clever stuff. Indeed, there are points when trying to decipher the intricacies of the plot begin to make the head hurt, so this is ripe for repeat viewing, in order to shed light more fully on proceedings.
If your idea of sci-fi deals exclusively with aliens and lightsabers and space battles, avoid this like green tinged bacon, but if you want something with substance, depth and gravity, you could do a lot worse. Clocking in at just under eighty minutes, I reckon this one is worth a punt even for those in doubt.
Spellbinding movie making.