Left breathless by the British Sci-Fi Post-Apocalypse Horror The Girl with All the Gifts, I started watching Videos related to it. Letting the Vids play on, I stumbled on a review by Mark Kermode for a minimalist British "hard Sci-Fi" Post-Apocalypse. Finding comments linking it to All the Gifts and the minimalist cast (three people) of fellow Brit "hard Sci-Fi" Ex_Machina, I joined in the fight for survival.
The plot:
Since a drop in crude oil has led to the end of civilisation, a survivalist has been living in the countryside for seven and a half years. After the death of his brother, the survivalist has been tending to his own plot of land. One day he hears a sudden knock at the door,and the survivalist is met by Kathryn and her daughter Milja,who are desperate for food and drink. Keeping his gun on them,he agrees to what they want, in exchange for Kathryn helping out with the garden, and Mija having sex with him. Soon bonding together, Kathryn tells Mija that the plot of land is only big enough for two people.
View on the film:
Planting just a handful of dialogue in the entire film, writer/director Stephen Fingleton marks his feature film debut with an astonishingly assured confidence. Playing the opening 15 minutes in complete silence of human voice, Fingleton & cinematographer Damien Elliott turn the sound of the apocalypse up with an Ambient (no score) soundtrack of cracking twigs, rain tapping on the roof and birds whistling in the distance of a world gone long ago. Marking the credits with the line of existence dropping, Fingleton makes the survivors existence a terrible life, with gruelling, extended takes by Fingleton pulling the mistrusting nature of the trio into the open.
Exchanging sex for food and water, Fingleton rubs a grubby atmosphere over the screen, with the lighting making the sex look bleaker than the soil outside. Slicing into the mistrust that haunts the place, Fingleton chillingly presents things as matter of fact, with Mija having to go to the river to wash away the blood from her period, showing how everyday essentials have all been lost. Focusing on the present rather than the past, the screenplay by Fingleton makes every piece of dialogue count via it only being used when a character is trying to find a secure way to survive.
Entering as outsiders, Olwen Fouere and Mia Goth give masterful performances as mum and daughter Kathryn and Milja. Looking New Age, Fouere peels away at any warmth from Kathryn to revealing a calculating mother, whose loyalty solely lays in her and Mija's survival, whilst Goth gives Milja a cold shoulder vagueness which stops anyone knowing what she truly thinks. Never letting his guard down, Martin McCann gives an incredibly rustic performance as the Survivalist,with McCann putting the desperation of the situation across with cold, soulless glances giving all the "dialogue" anyone could need,as the Survivalist fights for survival.