Random Thoughts on the Movie Phase 7

Normally I watch a movie when I don’t feel like reading, but sometimes I’ll combine the two and look for a foreign horror or sci-fi movie and bear through the English subtitles. If the movie is good, then I don’t mind. Last night was devoted to watching the low budget Argentinian sci-fi movie “Phase 7” from the Netflix instant queue.

Here’s the basic premise with no major spoilers.

The story is set in Argentina and initially focuses on a twenty something slacker named Coco and his 7 month pregnant wife Pipi. As the story develops we find out that a deadly virus has hit several countries, killing lots and lots of people (they don’t exactly say how many so I will quantify it as “lots and lots”). The Health Ministry begins increasing the threat level in the country, and eventually the building that Coco and Pipi live in is placed into quarantine. As time passes, we get introduced to the unusual group of neighbors in the building and the social dynamic between these people. Although a pacificst, Coco eventually aligns himself with his gun-toting survivalist neighbor Horacio as tensions and paranoia increase from living weeks in quarantine without contact to the outside world.

There is mention a few times about some type of New World Order and the conspiracy that the virus is a way to decrease the population, but this really wasn’t developed much other than to further along some conversations between Coco and Horacio and explain Horacio's survivalist actions. I was expecting monsters or zombies to attack those in the building, but that never happened. The most dangerous predator in this movie was man and his inevitable inhumanity towards others.

Pros

· Decent story with decent acting for a low budget movie, funny at times
· Suspenseful environment
· Musical score is reminiscent of something out of a late 70's/early 80's John Carpenter movie

Cons

· Character development
· Pacing
· The virus isn’t all that frightening in the way it kills (other than it kills you I guess).   However, it’s probably much more realistic than getting a bite/scratch and then bouncing up from the ground as an out of control zombie or monster.

Overall I was satisfied with the movie. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t have any preconceived expectations. If I had wanted to watch Hitchcock, then I would have watched Hitchcock. I just wanted a little escapism and basic entertainment, not a cinematic masterpiece. This movie gave that to me. It also got me thinking about what I would do in similar circumstances. So for that, I’ll recommend the movie. Most movies these days won’t keep you thinking after the credits roll.

If you can handle the subtitles, I would also recommend Troll Hunter (Norway) and Rammbock (Germany), which can also be found on the Netflix instant queue. Maybe I’ll discuss these later, but I have to finish my thoughts on Space Invaders first….