A 2013 film that continues to rack up reviews on Rotten Tomatoes despite not being so widely known. James Ward Byrkit is a writer, director and storyboarder in Hollywood and this is probably the main film he has directed despite being involved with in many cinema and TV projects.
The first thing to say is that it is very well constructed. It is about a night in Los Angeles when 8 people get together for a dinner party just when a comet is passing over the city and affecting electricity and cellphone communication. The point of this evening is that the comet opens up portals between alternative realities.
In the house the 8 are occupying, strange things begin to happen and they begin to investigate both inside and near the house.
They notice that neighbouring houses look like theirs and have the same inhabitants doing similar but not exact things.
Could they be other parts of themselves functioning in multiple realities? We are nearly a decade prior to Everything Everywhere All at Once and this throws up issues in the same ball park.
Several revelations occur in the last part but the whole film has plenty of tension and is well-acted by a not so well-known cast. Apparently, improvisation played a key part and one of the actors was a co-writer (Alex Manugian) so could guide the others.
Emily Baldoni has perhaps the most attention among the cast and performs well. As many reviews said it is a good example of what you can do on a low budget.
4 stars (just)
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