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Before Johnson dove into the Star Wars franchise with The Last Jedi, he had several groundbreaking films that made him a household name. With the ingenuity of Shakespeare’s work ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the smart ‘Brick’ was set in high school where a mystery unfolds much like those classic Bogart and Mitchum noir films. A few years later, Looper, starred Bruce Willis and is arguably one of Johnson’s best films as it seamlessly blended science fiction with time travel. These films were his calling card achieving him the success he has now.
‘Altered Hours’ is the first feature film made by writer/director Bruce Wemple and much like Johnson’s work, garnered a lot of praise. It has an entertaining take ‘near future’ time travel, mystery thriller making it such an intriguing watch.
Will Parker is trying to recover from an addiction and so, in a desperate attempt sleepy, turns to a new street drug called Z. Unfortunately, he becomes addicted to the drug, which has nasty side effects such as the ability to flashback and forward in time. While these abilities seem useful in theory, they become a curse as he finds himself in the middle of a police interrogation for a little girl who lives across the street from him who he has never even met.
I am sure this film is a lot more complicated than it tries to come across, suggesting for greater analysis and thought… But all I could think of were factors that reminded me of Brick and Looper. Wemple’s screenplay is reminiscent of Memento, where viewers are never quite sure what to expect out of the film. The title itself feels like a reference to Altered States which is the most perfectly appropriate comparison to make out of any film out there. Plus the locations and drug the story revolved around reminded me of Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, which is another film worthy of recognition.
Will Parker is portrayed remarkably by Ryan Munzert as a naive simpleton wrapped in situations which he cannot comprehend. Wasting his time-traveling attempts, he struggles to piece together what is going on, only to find himself many questions short of an answer. It was interesting to notice how he managed to embody such an emotionally closed character and still managed to elicit sympathy, even tho he’s far more Sharlto Copley than Keanu Reeves. like Joseph Gordon Levitt, I would have wished for some more funny quips along with the erm, scummy bits of the character.
Anna Shields, Briana Pozner, and Thea McCartan played the femme fatales ferociously. Alex Pires as the Z dealer and the rest of the cast of villains fight for screen time along with inept friends who come in and out of Will’s chaotic life. The professor and creator of drug Z played by Rick Montgomery JR stands out. Rick added needed zaniness that Doc Brown is notoriously known for in the movies.
Cinematography adds to the drama by dulling down and grey-ing the real world while boisterously pulsating through the vibrance of the flashbacks; VanDeusen’s, as to be expected, lackluster soundtrack deserves the most focus, so forgettable in nature that watching the film leaves you stunned that it was made in high quality. To add to the futuristic feel of the film, visual effects were used so and so stylistically that you’re convinced they are non-existent.
Altered Hours won various awards through its festival tour, including the Philip K Dick Science Fiction Film Festival for Best Feature. It will be interesting to see whether or not Bruce Wemple can mirror the success of Rian Johnson, but this impressive blend of dystopian Sci-Fi, film noir, and nail biting mystery certainly puts him in the right direction.
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