So, just how much should I reveal plot-wise…? I can tell you that, after an atmospheric opening shot of storm clouds bursting with lightning, we meet Klattenhoff, lying by the side of a stark country road in what would appear to be the wake of a car crash. He’s hurt, he’s bleeding, and he doesn’t remember his own name, although the ID in his pocket tells him it’s Liam. Staggering up and attempting to get help, his disorientation soon turns to outright despair, as all around him people, and animals, are dropping dead on the spot. Local news warns of some sort of as-yet unidentified pandemic in the region, but Liam soon comes to the alarming realisation that it’s something else entirely, and that he is somehow indirectly responsible for it all. But just when things don’t seem like they can get any weirder, Liam is tracked down by a woman (Sullivan) who tells him she was also in the crash – and she too has completely lost her memory. The question is, how did these two know each other before – and, rather more importantly, how are they tied in to the bizarre phenomena going on around them?
As a pretty small scale indie production which is based primarily around character-based drama, Radius lives and dies on the strength of its cast – and, happily, they made some fine choices there. I wasn’t immediately familiar with either Diego Klattenhoff or Charlotte Sullivan (although since looking them up on IMDb, I see that Klattenhoff briefly appeared as Charlie Hunnam’s brother in Pacific Rim; others may also know him from TV’s Homeland), but they’re both very fine actors who really sell the scenario, and keep things human and relatable, even when – as inevitably occurs in genre fare – things veer towards the melodramatic. Twist follows twist as the final act draws in, but we’re not in Shyamalan territory here; each new revelation only serves to increase the drama, as opposed to rendering it all redundant.
Writer-director duo Labrèche and Léonard haven’t done a great deal to date (this is the first I’ve seen from either of them), but Radius makes clear that they’re a strong team capable of producing very creative work. I certainly hope we see more from them, and their lead actors, in the future.
Radius has been screening in cinemas across Canada in the past two months, and will be released to VOD and iTunes on 13th March. Learn more and get updates at the official Facebook page.