Cosmic Contact

"Shadows on the Wall is slow-burn sci-fi with a brilliant concept buried under uneven performances and a meandering pace. What saves it-what makes it stick-is the core idea: a device that uses cosmic background radiation as a medium for communication, tapping into the very fabric of the universe to transmit signals. The implications grow fast and frightening, and while the acting rarely rises above competent and the script could've used another pass, the ambition is undeniable. It's lo-fi, high-concept science fiction that dares to ask: what happens when you build a phone to the stars... and something answers?"

The film fails on most levels. An obsessive 'techie' driven by an idea which actually works, eventually. This is already a feeble "What if ..." to justify what could have been a good starting point.

Unfortunately, the plot fails to live up to the original premise. Worse, the characters end up explaining the gaps in the plot to each other, since the production is unable to do so.

The next refuge is the 'shot in a cupboard' environment. The producer obviously thought "We don't need much in the way of expensive special effects if nobody can see the environment anyway". The remaining need for special effects is just tacked-on and would have looked cheap ten years before it was actually produced.

Finally (no spoiler), the end is almost embarrassingly predictable. A real 'B' Movie.

"Have a Coke", make some popcorn, relax and suspend disbelief. The unlikely unfolding of events and less-than award-winning acting is part of the fun of this kind of film — very much in the genre of the 1950's science fiction movies.

Here are science-y people doing impossible, scientific-like things with technological-looking hardware which results in unforeseeable consequences of cosmic proportions. But, unlike modern "sci-fi" movies that rely heavily on computer-generated worlds, violence and prurience, this little film relies almost completely on plot and characters. That makes for a terrific bit of entertainment in my book.

(I put "sci-fi" in quotes as most films of that kind today rely almost entirely on magic with not even the suggestion of anything scientific.)

I'll try to be honest and short here - it's another Primer wannabe movie, great idea and a very mediocre execution with total lack of technical detail thru the movie itself. Also, can anyone here explain me the one thing please - is it a nowadays trend with hysterical characters not capable of logic and proper reactions anymore? I remember the nearly same rant about Prometheus characters acting like hysterical amateurs and the proper crew in original Alien movie. Anyway, as i've previously mentioned the core idea behind the movie is great, and with a proper execution it can be a very nice top notch scifi movie, so don't take my prejudices too serious (because its just another someone's opinion on the internet) and watch that one for yourself.

7 August 2016. Shadows on the Wall is a difficult ratings choice because its low budget appearance and some of the slow pacing make this movie rather hard to continue watching especially at the beginning. The climax of the movie isn't anything spectacular in its originality and yet the building up, the mystery, the eventual tension, and the relative consistency of tone and performances somehow keep this movie from being just average or ordinary. In short, this low budget sci fi movie isn't really bad, isn't really just average and except for perhaps the man in a black suit who seems pretty one dimensional, overall becomes a decent and credible sci fi motion picture. Its attempt to capture the sci fi tone and exhilaration of the genre actually succeeds, even if isn't completely grand in its depiction like Interstellar (2014) or Inception (2010).