What would you do if you woke up one morning and discovered you had the ability to fly or move objects with your mind?
That is the premise of "Chronicle", a film about a trio of high school friends who suddenly find themselves gifted with telekinetic abilities and how each chooses to use those powers.
Set in Seattle, the story revolves around Andrew (played by Dane Dehaan), who is an insecure and unpopular kid in school. Growing up with an abusive father, Andrew buys a video camera to chronicle his life. His only friends are his cousin Matt (played by Alex Russell) and Steve (played by Michael B. Jordan).
The trio's adventure begins when they enter a mysterious crater out in the wild and suddenly find themselves endowed with telekinetic abilities after they leave the sunken hole.
This is when the movie picks up. Like typical high school kids, they first start using their powers for juvenile pranks before the plot takes on a more sinister twist as Andrew becomes the most powerful and untameable of the three.
With a US$15 million budget, the visual effects are stunning especially when Andrew starts to abuse his superpowers, destroying the city's skyline.
First-time director Josh Trank managed to get the most out of this fantasy well enough. With a well-written screenplay by Max Landis, both have produced a refreshing and updated movie to the superhero genre.
And similar to "Paranormal Activity" and "Cloverfield", the story is told with Andrew's camera using Point-of-View footage.
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore over a video chat, Trank said, "It is actually harder to make the smaller effects come across such as levitating a dinner spoon or moving a grocery cart." He added, "It is all about maintaining consistency in making sure all special effects seem realistic."
The relatively unknown cast comprising of Dane Dehaan, Michael B. Jordan and Australian actor Alex Russell, have great on-screen chemistry as high school buddies. Despite their rookie status with no mainstream film experience, they are believable enough and pull off the action and emotional scenes credibly.
The playful cast also told Yahoo! Singapore over the video chat that they had become real-life friends during the filming process.
"We lived in a house together for over two weeks before filming started. So there was like a hazing, fraternity process," Jordan laughed.
Trank has also revealed that there is a potential for a sequel if the film is well received by audiences.
Rating: 4/5
The plot may not blow you away at first but an unexpected twist will make up for it. Making the movie with a relatively unknown cast has also made the "reality" element more convincing as the characters grow on you. And unlike some superhero movies, first-time director Josh Trank doesn't try to use special effects/CGI as a substitute for a good story — rather he uses them to complement what is an impressive directorial debut.
Chronicle opens in cinemas islandwide on Feb 2.
*back into the abyss of death*
Dane Dehaan plays Andrew in Chronicle who crosses over to the dark side and abuses his superpowers (Chronicle movie …
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