Pulpmovies Reviews

There are some films that are so mindbendingly good that they leave you buzzing. And Waiting for Dawn is one of these films.

As the film opens Carl (Rob Leetham) has proposed to his girlfriend, Vicky (Iona Thonger). And immediately regretted it. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Vicky – far from it – and Carl is undeniably happy with her. But he can’t help feeling that, by getting married, he might be making a mistake and he might be tying himself down sooner than he is ready.

All of these are pretty usual concerns but things take a turn for the distinctly unusual when Carl wanders into a pub. The pub in question, The Waiting Room has been closed for years but is a useful landmark and a convenient place for Vicky to pick him up after she’s been visiting her sister. On the day that he proposes, however, The Waiting Room happens to be open so Carl decides to wait inside for Vicky, rather than standing outside it.

This is where things start to become very strange indeed…

Waiting for Dawn is a film that hinges on the character of Carl as he begins to discover, and slowly accept, that reality isn’t quite as reliable as he’d always thought. The Waiting Room really is a waiting room – and much more besides.

Rob Leetham does an incredible job of holding things together as the bewildered Carl slowly begins to understand, and then to accept, just what this place is and what this means for him. And this realisation brings home to Carl just what really is important to him and what he is going to need to do if he wants to see Vicky again.

Although the plot centres in Carl and, therefore, leaves it up to Leetham to carry the film, he does so with the help of a large and very solid supporting cast and an exceptional script.

It is very easy to identify with Carl and to stay with him as things become progressively stranger. Writer/director James .T. Williams does a great job here of slowly revealing the nature of The Waiting Room so that we keep up with Carl, but don’t get too far ahead of him. Williams also manages to engender a real sense of dislocation in the film, which aligns perfectly with the plot.

This is very much a character based film and one that succeeds, not only because all of the characters are so well written but also because the cast as a whole really bring these people to life. There isn’t a single jarring performance and everything slots together in such a way as to keep you thoroughly engrossed right the way to the end of the film.

Waiting for Dawn is a rarity. It’s a science fiction film that deals with ideas rather than special effects. The film relies – successfully – on well realised and fully rounded characters rather than familiar stereotypes and draws you in with a genuinely unnerving atmosphere rather than relying on easy shocks.

This is a thoughtful, intelligent and downright engrossing film and one that is well worth watching out for.

Liyla (Molly Feigh) is a slob. Overweight, messy and lazy she seeks solace for her out of control life in comfort food, drink and cigarettes. Amelia (Pamela Sutch) is – in her own way – just as bad. Wealthy, privileged and arrogant, she has managed to reach her early 30s without actually doing anything with her life.

Inevitably, the two women encounter each other and clash quite energetically. And, in mid-clash, they are struck by a special effect which results in Liyla finding herself in Amelia’s body and vice-versa.

One of the strengths if science fiction as a genre is that it allows writers to explore hypothetical questions. In the case of Genetics, Pamela Sutch asks what would happen if someone who blames their failings on the hand life has dealt them is suddenly dealt an entirely different hand. Or, in this case, an entirely different body.

Both Lilya and Amelia find themselves confronted with a completely new set of challenges and opportunities and the film essentially stands back and allows us to watch how they respond. This character-based approach informs much of the film’s comedy as well.

Although there are several deliberately funny scenes, much of the humour is allowed to emerge naturally as the characters develop. This approach is, of course, helped immeasurably by the strength of both of the lead performances.

Both Molly Feigh and Pamela Sutch really bring their – and each others’ – characters to life and manage to make them sympathetic enough that we do start to care about what happens to them. By the end of the film these characters have become quite likeable, which is an especially impressive feat given that, as the film starts, they are a pretty unpleasant pair.

Genetics is a gently entertaining comedy with a serious point to make about the way in which we often take the comfortable route of seeking excuses – either by blaming others or insisting our faults are part of our nature - for our misfortune rather than facing up to the extent to which we are responsible.

A thrill-seeking businessman (Daniel J. Fox) hears about Dreamscape Inc, a company that provides ‘electronic dreams’ – custom fantasies that are delivered directly to your brain as you sleep – and becomes very interested. After listening to the sales pitch, he signs up to have a little widget attached to the back of his skull and, still feeling groggy, is returned home where he collapses on his bed.

Then we’re into the main part of the film, a spy thriller fantasy that sees the businessman in the role of a courier, tasked with delivering a mcguffin to a contact. As The Courier (in keeping with the film’s noirish aspirations, no-one has a name), he takes on countless secret service agents, gets the girl (Magda Rodriguez) and attempts to stay ahead of The Investigator (Mark Ellingham) long enough to complete his mission.

This is all good solid stuff and works well as an action oriented spy thriller. It’s also beautifully shot and really does show what can be achieved now with some intelligent use of digital effects.

The sets and the scenery really do come together superbly to give the film a very effective near-future noir feel. I don’t think I’ve seen a digital landscape this well realised since, well, since Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. As with Sky Captain – and unlike many subsequent films – writer/director, Daniel J. Fox is confident enough that he doesn’t feel the need to constantly ask you to marvel at his CGI ingenuity. Instead, the sets and the design do what these things are supposed to do – deliver a well-realised and believable world that fits the story perfectly.

The film does have some weaknesses, however, most notably the slightly clunky dialogue and an air of predictability to the plot – the predictability being my major gripe.

The back of the DVD case promises that: “illusion quickly turns into nightmare as reality and fantasy blur.” Unfortunately, reality and fantasy don’t blur nearly enough. What I was hoping for was something like eXistenZ in which both the characters and the audience are deliberately confused as to what is real and what isn’t.

Although the businessman believes he is in a dream, the truth is quite apparent to the rest of us. And this makes for a rather disappointing reveal at the end.

A longer version of this Dreamscape is currently in progress. If this version makes more of the dream/reality divide or extends the final act, then Daniel J. Fox could have a truly unique film on his hands.