 |
| Liam (Diego Klattenhoff) gives off a killer vibe in Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard's Radius (2017) |
Frankly, I didn't know what to expect from
Radius. a Quebec sci-fi thriller that world premiered at Fantasia; there was very little information available, and no trailer so far. Nevertheless,
Radius is a fun, twisty surprise--a clever thriller with plenty of careful plotting, providing little morsels of narration to keep you guessing.
In synopsis, Liam (Diego Klattenhoff) wakes from a car accident to discover that anything within a 50 foot radius of him (birds, mammals, people) keels over dead. His mere proximity wipes out the local populace, but initially he thinks it's just a really nasty airborne virus. Oh, and he cannot remember anything, including who he is, and just follows the info on his driver's license to get to his "home." Not long after he holes up in his shed, trying to avoid all contact, a woman shows up at his door, and lo and behold, she stays alive despite being nearby. Jane Doe (Charlotte Sullivan) doesn't remember anything either, but she figures out that she was in the car accident with him. Seems that if Jane stays in a 50 foot radius of Liam, she cancels out his killer powers; but separate them, and the jig is up. This particular quandary ratchets up the film's tension, as intimacy and proximity to others becomes the basis by which people live or die.
 |
| The police corner Liam and Jane, who are now considered suspected terrorists |
While the premise of the film is compelling enough, if we do not care about the characters, their fate will not really matter too much. As we identify with Liam's POV early on, we genuinely care about his unnerving predicament. Questions are replaced by other questions as the story unfolds: who are Liam and Jane, and how do they know each other? What actually happened during the car accident, to land them with these killer side effects? Where
Radius truly excels is in its careful plotting, as the backstory of these characters is revealed in bits and pieces as their memories return bit by bit. I think I'm pretty keen on WTF narrative structures, but I did not see the major twist this film unveils AT ALL. I think much of this twist's effectiveness is dependent on Diego Klattenhoff's strong performance, as he is a character with whom we identify and support throughout the film. We want to figure out, along with him, and Jane, how all this happened. Frankly, the "why" of these events is not as important as the revelation of what these characters are to each other--the "who" is more crucial. I highly recommend
Radius, a thoughtful and tension-filled thrill ride, and I applaud Fantasia for giving this little gem its world premiere. Check it out!
