Tags:
Film: Hostile Dimensions
Year: 2023
Director: Graham Hughes
Writer: Graham Hughes
Starring: Annabel Logan, Joma West and Josie Rogers
Review:
This is a movie that I learned about through trailers at the Gateway Film Center. I don't watch them, but I'll hear different things that make me look up. Figuring out the title and that this is a horror film intrigued me, so it went on a list to see. I did catch it at the theater as well.
Synopsis: two documentary filmmakers travel through alternate dimensions to uncover the truth about a graffiti artist who vanished.
We start this with a couple going into an abandoned factory. The graffiti artist is Emily (Josie Rogers) and her boyfriend is holding a camera. His name is Brian. We don't see him here though. They go exploring and it seems like she is going to do art. What they find is an odd, freestanding door. She opens it and then disappears. Her scream draws Brian who doesn't see anything, until he turns a certain way. He then comes face to face with a creature. He drops his camera and flees.
There is a good edit here to shift to a desktop/phone where Sam (Annabel Logan) and Ash (Joma West) are talking. The former had the latter watch this video, as it is online. She wants to do a documentary on this since Emily is missing in real life. These two are filmmakers and their earlier work didn't do as well as they hoped. Ash is leery to take on this project. That is until she figures out where Emily lives, goes to her house and sees that she is truly missing. She agrees to the project.
They seek out Brian (Graham Hughes), as that seems like the logical place to start. He is freaked out by what happened to Emily and thinks the best thing for these two is just leave it alone. They don't do that though. This duo finds the warehouse and the door is still there. They take it back to Sam's apartment. It is here that they experiment with it, opening the door to what looks like a mirror. That isn't what it is though and they get freaked out, seeing another version of themselves. The difference is that there, Sam's mother is still alive. They open it to other worlds until they finally get brave enough to enter. What they find there terrifies them and makes them question using the door.
This team then seeks out Innis (Paddy Kondracki) who is a professor of physics. He's heard about doors like this. He goes with them to see it. Things take a turn when something comes out of it when they're asleep. People aren't as they seem and this group must go on an adventure to not only save themselves, but our reality as well.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this film piqued my interest because it deals with multiverses. I'd also put this into the realm of cosmic horror as well. Not in the vein of Lovecraftian style, except we do get glimpses of different creatures that you could put in that realm. It is cosmic in the idea of dealing with dimensions and things that are out of the normal for our time. This does feature a ritual as well as explaining things from the past.
Now that I've set that up, I love the premise here. This is told in chapters with an epilogue. I love how this starts with setting up this strange door and a character disappearing. There's a great transition then with our two lead characters, Sam and Ash, deciding if they believe what they saw and then doing a documentary about it. They then meddle with things that they don't understand. I love that this doesn't try to explain it, even when they include Innis. He's an expert and this is still out of his understanding to fully clarify. They just roll with what they experience in trying to save everyone, which feels real enough to me.
I'll then include here that I'm an atheist. I believe that there is a scientific explanation for everything, even if we don't have it figured out how to do so. The multiverse theory is something that I believe is also true. Just my basic understanding of physics, it seems more plausible. I love the parts where these two women are opening this door and seeing worlds like our own, but different. This includes one where Sam's deceased mother is still around, a playcenter with a panda theme and even a world with flying whales. This film is working with a low budget, so they use CGI to bring things to life, but it worked for me. How it is used is done in a way that makes it still feel real. I could tell what was done with computers, but it still looks good if I'm honest.
Let's then finish out with the filmmaking. I've already discussed the effects. They are a combination of practical with CGI. The cinematography is good though. That helps to hide the seams, for the most part. I like how they frame things, especially when it comes to looking at this door and then moving slightly for something different than logically what we see. That works for me. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack and design fit what was needed.
All that is left then is acting. No one is great, but they feel real enough. This is found footage so me not recognizing anyone is good. I like Logan and West as this duo who make documentaries and they're struggling. This video of the door falling into their lap gives them an idea of what to do. Rogers works as the woman who we think will be our lead before she disappears. I like using that. Kondracki feels like this nerdy professor. I also like Hughes and Stephen Beavis to help round this out.
In conclusion, this isn't a great film. I dug what it was doing though. I'm a fan of the theories behind this like multiverses and what not. How they managed this visually was good, crediting the cinematography, framing and effects. The acting works to bring the characters to life. Found footage adds another layer as well. It feels like we are with them as they try to figure out what is happening. I'm a fan of cosmic horror so this falls in my wheelhouse there. This won't work for everyone so keep that in mind before seeing it.
My Rating: 7 out of 10