Debug

This is one of the best on-a-shoestring-budget films I have seen in a while. The CGI isn't bad, the acting is solid and their is plenty of action.

All that said this movie isn't a great way to spend two hours. With a lot of indie films you can not only forgive dodgy effects but delight in them, they are somehow part of it. Debugs slickness actually works against it, the few dodgy elements like the ludicrously clean cut bad guy and the odd flickery greenscreen-work stick out like sore thumbs. Instead of a friendly, grungy production this has a distinct whiff of corporate Hollywood about it, which again makes it harder to love.

The story is straight out of a Twilight Zone episode, nothing special.

Actors mainly do OK, predictably the beautiful ladies get down to their vest and pants before the bad guy comes after them. I had no doubt who was going to make it out alive but to be honest I didn't really care.

A very good effort but Nothing special.

There is little point in beating around the bush about it: the obvious comparison for Debug is Event Horizon. While the subplots and backgrounds may differ, both films deal with the same scenario: an evil that has taken over a spaceship and a crew that comes to investigate. Comparing the two, it is peculiar to find that the reason Event Horizon worked so much better has nothing to do with its production values and everything to do with its focus on atmosphere—an area where Debug has every opportunity to match it, and simply fails to do so.

To its credit, Debug manages to stand up fairly well in quite a few aspects and punches well above its budget in terms of production values.

The acting is all right, with the exception of Jason Momoa's campy creep performance as I Am. Perhaps, already having achieved fame as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones, he did not feel the same need to distinguish himself as the other actors. Perhaps the role simply did not suit him. Either way, the lacklustre sleaze he brings to the role cheapens and stifles all tension and drama whenever he is on screen. Jeananne Goossen and Sidney Leeder, in contrast, bring life and character to their roles, whereas the rest of the cast is simply passable.

The visuals in Debug are not without flaws, but they are at times gorgeous. (The HUD effects, in particular, stand out.) Sadly, they sometimes fail to impart a feeling of reality—of substance. Future technology may be clean and durable, but any surface will have wear and tear. In Debug, they tend to look like freshly moulded plastic—featureless and flimsy. Strangely, this does not seem to be down to capability so much as aesthetics, as it is true for the set as much as the CGI. As a whole, though, the visuals work, and most of the time the set and the CGI fit well together.

Sound effects are generally fair to pretty damned good, although they tend to fail to produce a sense of presence. The same goes for the score, which seems to have been mixed as so to be unobtrusive rather than evocative—a strange choice for a horror film.

All in all, it would seem Debug has enough good points to provide a solid horror experience. (After all, many films have done so with less.) As sci-fi horror is a genre I love and the space-based variety is woefully underrepresented, it disheartens me to say that it does not—and for rather bizarre reasons. You see, while the production would have worked well for a sci-fi drama, its manner of presentation promotes detachment rather than immersion. The tension never grabs you and events never draw you in, making the actual horror elements fall flat. Part of it is editing, but choices made in seemingly every aspect of the film—from character exposition to camera angles—exacerbate the problem. The effect, tragically, is an audience indifference this type of narrative can ill afford, making a film that could have, should have been a rough gem turn out to be just another barren space rock.

Debug is, in the end, a mediocre film with several massive, bulky cargo holds full of wasted potential due to an almost mindless indifference to the core driver of every good horror film—atmosphere.

First of all: This is a low-budget movie and should be treated as such. If you're expecting state of the art CGI and explosions everywhere this might not be the film for you. If you're like me on the other hand then this might be exactly what you're looking for. The good thing about this movie, and a lot of other low-budget sci-fi, is that they aren't forced to do the usual "handsome guy falls in love while saving the world"-story. If you enjoyed movies like Solaris or Sunshine and aren't overly concerned with CGI then give this one a try. Don't get me wrong, just because the CGI isn't as good as you might be used to from a big budget movie doesn't mean this film looks in any way bad. The effects are actually pretty good for this type of film and the set is well made. Special mention goes to Sidney Leeder and the lead actress Jeananne Goossen. They both did a great job.

This one stars really bad and you can tell that the budget will be an important factor but with time it gets better and once you get used to the image, you can start checking out the plot.

Is it anything like Hackers? A ship with a Evil mind going on a killing spree and the only way to stop it is to fight a program with another better program, hackers doing what they do best, some visual effects here and there, a little blood, no scares, ah and if you are a girl a lot of Momoa. So no, not much to do with real hacking, just a half decent horror scifi, I've seen better, I've seen worse, I would never recommend Debug to anyone tho. It's just a production, a way for the people involved in the making of it to show what they are capable of and try to snatch a bigger project in the near future. I wish them all good luck, I think they can do more!

Debug is better than Stranded per example but it ain't no Event Horizon either. I gave it a 4.

Cheers!

The highlight of the movie is watching Sidney Leeder's character flirt, tease, and taunt other crew. She's one of the few characters that has some depth, motivation, and sense of fun.

Jason Momoa wasn't bad as a menacing AI, but he wasn't a character to empathize with - or even to love to hate. He ultimately had the 2 dimensional motivation of an AI following his programming, but with a maniacal murder streak. Without a truly 3 dimensional villain, he may as well be a glitchy computer or one with a loose wire. He seems to want to kill and torture... just because. Senseless violence is boring.

Some CGI was really entertaining. The best parts being those that blend into the scenes - like e-mail in their heads up displays. Parts of the ship were well done. The exterior shots were very well done.

Honestly, I think I'd have enjoyed the movie more without the killer AI - just fleshing out the prisoner characters' backgrounds and interactions more and their frustrations with the limitations of their freedoms. The movie is like a bad episode of Outer Limits where we get little exposition and narrative followed by mindless violence / action sequences meant perhaps to visually impress, but utterly lacking substance. Just having Momoa on a monitor talking was more menacing and entertaining than the whole opening sequence of the movie.

David Hewlett is one of my favorite actors. I applaud his effort in writing and directing a full length film. It's better than many made- for-TV Syfy channel craptastic flicks of the month. I think with some work, we could see this again in another form with more well rounded characters and a better story arc for the "heroes" and villain.

I wouldn't recommend the movie, but there are worse ways to spend your time. I'd describe it as having elements of Cube, Jason X, and Hackers. I'm hoping this was a proof of concept flick to show that David Hewlett is ready to take the helm of something larger.