Incontrol (2017) Reviews

• Some things left up to viewer interpretation

  informant-843182018-05-28

  The premise behind this movie was pretty interesting, but the story could have been better than 4 young adults using a mysterious piece of technology to hijack rich kids at parties. It seems pretty shallow but I think that most people would do similar things if they could take over someone else's body. Money, sex, drugs and other vices would naturally be the focus of alot of people. The main character Samantha used the device in both a selfish but also virtuous way. She manipulated her boss at work so she could have more time addicted to the machine. But she also tried to get her mother out of the addicted slump she was in, which we never really see how that plays out. Samantha obviously is envious of Marissa's relationship with Mark so she hijacks her for long periods of time, just to live in her shoes. But to get to the explanation of the movie, it is sort of like the movie Inception, a dream inside a dream thing which is confusing at first to grasp. What is really going on is some kind of experiment to see if people who are observed will act differently than people who are not being watched. Jenny and I think Mark are not who you think they are. They are actually people who are having their bodies being controlled by others whom we do not see. The comment by Jenny at the end when she offers Mark coffee, gives this away. So obviously the machine they have is not the only machine in existence. Someone is using another machine to control them and make them hook up to the machine in Jenny's place. Confused yet? Whomever the people are behind this experiment are, they do not want to leave any lose ends, hence the ending where they make Mark kill Victor, Samantha, Jenny and then himself. But not before he collects the research data and puts it in a box for a shady looking delivery van to pick up. Regarding Victor, I am not entirely sure if he is being controlled. I believe he is not just like Samantha which is why he tries to die in the simulation. Then he tries to escape because he says he can't trust anyone. He was also suspicious of Samantha and where she came from. Anyways, apparently if the host dies while you are hooked up to them, you yourself do not die, as was shown in Victor's case. However, the opposite is not true. When Samantha was hijacking Marissa and was killed by Jenny, her consciousness was trapped forever in Marissa. At first she panics and tries to call Mark, whose voice we can hear mumbling about cleaning up Samantha's body. Samantha is so freaked out by being trapped in Marissa's body that she is distracted and wrecks the car. We later discover that Marissa is indeed Samantha by her jogging routine and eating peanut butter. Overall the movie I think needed an ending that explained more about the experiment although I think the writers left enough breadcrumbs as to what type of experiment it was. They mentioned rats addicted to morphine when they are caged, but once free act differently. So observing how people acted while hooked to the addictive machine was a large part of the experiment although I am not sure what benefit it is to the scientists.

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• Taking control

  TheLittleSongbird2018-06-18

  Was drawn into seeing 'Incontrol' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing and creative premise (one of the most innovative for any film seen recently) and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. 'Incontrol' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better, can't say that it is a great film because it isn't. It is not a terrible film though, as far as recent low-budget film viewings go it's one of the better and more watchable ones easily. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and irredeemably terrible at worst. Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky and 'Incontrol' is surprisingly well shot and easy on the eye, was expecting a cheap looking film and to me that wasn't the case here. The music is suitably ominous. Found that the acting was not bad, found it better than average if not much more. Also that there were a few nice moments that intrigued and there was tension, suspense and creepiness, the first half is very promising and has a good deal of unsettlement. At least the film was not hard to follow and the story structure was generally coherent. Unfortunately, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and after the promising first half the film became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary in the second, with the outcome revealed too early and the ending not feeling tied up enough. The characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them and some of the decision making and behaviour induces face-palming. The effects are ropy at best. Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés and no depth whatsoever (definitely one of the worst assets), while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags with very little going on worth caring about. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Tonally, it feels unfocused and muddled from trying to do too much. There are too many underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, too much of the second half is unimaginative and more odd than creepy, with little sense of horror or urgency. Momentum sags later on and the direction has its assured moments but inexperience also shows. There is a general lack of creativity and shocks. The sound editing can be on the obvious and over-loudly recorded side. The editing is haphazard at times, but really it's the script and the second half that are most problematic here. Overall, not great but worth a one time watch. 5/10 Bethany Cox

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• Unfinished

  cotterpolt2018-09-06

  I've never watched a movie that seemed so unfinished. What they had was pretty good. Perhaps they can get the bucks to clear up all the loose ends. Give it a watch because it is interesting and acting is decent, but beware you may feel unsatisfied when it's over.

• Premise = many points. Execution and story = points lost

  jamesalmos2018-04-26

  I have to say up front that the basic theme of the film - being able to experience existence in any other physical state than being in one's own body - is of great personal interest to me, both personally and, at one point, professionally. So, the filmmakers were at a simultaneous advantage and disadvantage, with respect to me. That said: from an objective view, they did pretty well with what one can assume of their budget, and the script largely worked with the concept of exploring the meaning of the self alongside the potential trappings brought by the ability to manipulate the reality of that self. Again, in context of what the cast and crew had to work with, the acting is above b-movie mediocre, albeit not so much as to distract from the obvious and expected dropped lines or unrealized punch points in the script. Speaking of which, the script laid out a scenario with great potential only to get too bogged down in minutiae and unnecessary dialogue. I still go back to the ambition and creativity of the premise - body-swapping-type stories have been done many times, but this falls outside the norm due to the psycho-physical interaction and heavier philosophical questions that ensue. This isn't low-budget Face-Off or another failed attempt at the ideas behind Transcendence. These guys went for the gold. They didn't hit gold due to budget, but at least they tried. A worthy watch for any sci-fi or sci-leaning fantasy fan. A solid 6 rating - that rating meaning at least 60% of all I've ever seen were lesser than this in some way. Then again, that's out of at least 10k, so you do the math.

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• Confusing, and lacked tension and suspense

  ChrisLFinch2018-07-17

  It had strong language, alcohol, drugs, adult scenes, gore, murder, guns and sharp weapons. I think it could have been more interesting if there was more developed. It had a slow paste at the start and quickly became boring to watch, the first half of the Movie was boring, and predictable, I found the characters developed was half finished. I would of liked a little bit more. I didn't really like The main character, Samantha who used the device in a selfish way. She made her boss at work say things, so that she could have more time to be addicted to the machine. but I did liked that she tried to get her Mum out of the negative slump she was in, but we never really saw how that played out. The Movie was kinda of choppy and it felt like there was too many gaps missing and that made it Confusing. I think it needed an ending that explained more about the experiment, and I found that there was a lack of tension and suspense in the Movie because that what I love about Sci-fi Movies that's what I look forward too. I would say if I watched another Movie with the same idea, with the technology but if the story was better, I would be happy to watch it. I think I saw a little scene with an lgbt charter which I liked but I would of like to see more of it within the Movie. I liked the music that was used and I think it went well with the scenes. The other thing I liked was the acting. I think the people who played victor and mark did a really good job. This Movie kinda of reminds me of a book which also has a Movie which is called everyday. Its about this thing that calls itself A and each day A wakes up in a diffident body, but with everyday its not A's chose. It just happens and A doesn't know how to stop it.

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