Tags:
Film: New Life
Year: 2023
Director: John Rosman
Writer: John Rosman
Starring: Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin and Tony Amendola
Review:
This was a movie that I got the chance to see thanks to Keir Waller from Strike Media. The screener was sent over to me with the press release. Looking into it, I figured out that this was a horror film so that made me intrigued to see this. Seeing that it featured Sonya Walger, from the television shows Lost and FlashForward as another perk. I also realized that Tony Amendola was in this as well. To clarify, this is getting its wide release for 2024 and making its debut at festivals the year prior. I also have now given this a second watch to see where it would sit for my end of year list.
Synopsis: a mysterious woman on the run and the resourceful fixer assigned to bring her in. Their two unique stories inextricably link, as the stakes of the pursuit rise to apocalyptic proportions.
We start this with Jessica Murdock (Hayley Erin) walking outside. There’s blood on her face. She goes into her place, gets cleaned up quickly and changes. It is then we see two guys come in with guns. She found a ring in her partner’s drawer, hidden inside a sock. She takes it with her and sneaks into the back of a pickup truck to hitch a ride to get away.
The other story then shifts and follows Elsa Gray (Walger), who is the fixer. The leader of the team is Raymond Reed (Amendola). They believe that Jessica has a new form of Ebola and they’re trying to prevent an outbreak. In the makeshift command center is a team of programmers. One of them, who works with Elsa, is Vince Harding (Jeb Berrier). These two banter back and forth, showing they have history. Something that we learn is that Elsa has ALS and is struggling with coming to terms.
Getting back over to Jessica, we get to see her in the past and the events that led her to being on the run. She and her boyfriend, Ian (Nick George), went camping. During this, they meet a dog. It bit her and Ian developed a rash. In her present, she meets good people along the journey who try to help. There is an elderly farming couple of Frank (Blaine Palmer) and Janie (Betty Moyer). The former catches her stealing canned soup and invites her in. They want her to stay with them, but she can’t. The other is a bartender, Molly (Ayanna Berkshire), who is hiding from an abusive ex-boyfriend. Jessica knows she is fleeing from the authorities, but she doesn’t know the reason or what she is carrying. Elsa doesn’t fully know either and the results could be disastrous.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Something that I want to include here is that while doing a bit of research, the reveal of this disease was spoiled for me. It didn’t hurt my viewing of what we got, but I think it would have been more shocking when we saw it. What I’ll say is that outside of what I’ve given you, if you can avoid spoilers, I think it carries more weight.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me delve into things deeper. The first is that this feels like the concept developed out of the COVID pandemic. We have this secret group that is trying to stop the spread of what Jessica has. They’re not revealing things to the public or even Elsa. She was selected for a couple of reasons. She is great at what she does, but she also has ALS, so if she ends up getting infected, she already has limited time in their eyes. I thought this reveal was a gut punch, as does our character for good reason. I like seeing the depths of how shady the organization is. They’re putting her at risk for humanity.
There’s also the issue here that Jessica is fleeing. Part of it is that they don’t tell her why she’s being held. Ian gets sick. The ambulance doesn’t take them to a normal hospital. She thinks she’s been pursued due to killing someone in her escape. Because of that, she is spreading what she has. There is a selfish way of looking at this where everyone has the right to live and be free. The issue here though is that if you’re spreading something that could wipe out humanity, where should you stop? In her defense, she doesn’t know. It isn’t until interactions late that she notices a pattern going back to Ian. Erin is good with her performance so is that as well.
The last thing then is I want to discuss Elsa and Jessica, since the concept is them being similar in what they’re dealing with. Elsa has ALS, which isn’t a death sentence. It is just that way of life, she won’t be able to continue. There’s a powerful scene where she is confronted with if she’s considering suicide. She was also selected for this job because Raymond knew her diagnosis. Elsa is experiencing the early stages and struggles with using her limbs. Credit to Walger for her performance. Then on the other side, Jessica doesn’t know she is a carrier. She is just trying to survive. Her mortality is brought before her as time goes on and it is a difficult decision. An interesting thing here, because Ian is dead and she’s on the run, she is starting a new life. There’s another way to look at the title as well. The other is Elsa is forced into a new one as well.
Let’s then finish out the rest of the cast. Amendola is cast perfectly here as Raymond. He has a great balance of caring, but also being ruthless. He also gives information on a need-to-know basis which fits the character and their position. I like Berrier who helps to humanize Elsa more. She feels like a villain, but their interactions along with her reveals change that feeling. Berkshire, Moyer and Palmer are all good to help Jessica see there are decent people. George and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed as well.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that how this was edited was interesting. We jump in to see that Jessica is on the run. We don’t know if she is a criminal or if there is more to this. It is then through things that we see that it develops the characters which was good. This does a similar thing with Elsa, just humanizing her more as things get revealed. I thought that the cinematography and how they frame things was solid as well. The second watch made me realize they focus on different things with Jessica. It lingers just enough, signifying that what she is carrying is spread. It is also subtle. Something I wasn’t expecting were the effects. The look of those that were infected was interesting. It was creepy and I like the take on this type of ‘creature’. They do well there. I’d also say the blood we get and the aftermath of the changes was good. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed. I liked the sound design with Elsa chatting with the command center.
In conclusion, this is a solid film. I’m not going to hold it against what was revealed before I could see it. There is still a good heart here for the story they’re telling. It does well in setting up our two leads and then changing our perception as they are good. I’ll credit the performances by Walger and Murdock as well. The rest of the cast is good at pushing them to where they end up. This was well made with the cinematography, framing and the effects leading the way there. I’d recommend this movie. It is presenting a subgenre we see quite a bit of in a different way, which is something I appreciate. With my second watch, this has solidified its place for me.
My Rating: 8.5 out of 10