Ejecta (Review)
Canada/2014
Format Viewed For Review: Netflix Instant
Netflix Streaming: Yes
Amazon Prime: No
"It simply doesn't do anything
with its 80 minute runtime."
William
Cassidy (Julian Richings) lives in seclusion after an extraterrestrial
experience 39 years ago. As a solar event looms, William invites Joe Sullivan (Adam
Seybold), a conspiracy blogger and filmmaker, to his humble abode...
Ejecta
frequently jumps from past to present. In the present, William has been
captured and restrained in a heavily-guarded government facility. He's
interrogated about the previous 12 hours. So, the film constantly jumps back as the past is slowly unraveled. The past boils down to
William and Joe stumbling upon an extraterrestrial event — to avoid major spoilers. There really
isn't much to say about the plot. In fact, I've already told you
everything you need to know. It has some subtleties, but most of the
narrative is hollow. The ending was also unsatisfying; it kept dragging
on and on, always missing a suitable opportunity to end.
Ejecta
is an interesting but forgettable film. In fact, having just watched it
15 or so minutes ago, I've already forgotten most of it. So, let me tell
you what I remember. First and foremost, the storytelling is disjointed.
It is easy enough to follow, but the fragmented storytelling makes this
film feel sloppy. Secondly, the plot is hollow. There is hardly
anything going on. There are too many unnecessary scenes. In turn, this
bloats the runtime and slows the pacing. From that, you get many moments
of boredom. If there's anything I vividly remember, it's how many times
I felt myself dozing off — how many times my head spun from the
boredom. Now, it does get a bit more interesting during the final act,
but it really wasn't enough.
As for its horror elements, it is
severely underwhelming. It has a moment or two that may give you chills,
but most of its attempts at horror are futile. With the boring plot and
underutilized aliens, it just never has the opportunity to really
frighten the audience. It doesn't have any tension, there's hardly any
ambiance or atmosphere, and there are barely any jump-scares — even the
worst horror films have jump-scares! It has some interesting ideas, but
they don't translate well to the screen due to the lack of suspense. The plot also wants to have a deeper
meaning, but I'm afraid it's never conveyed effectively.
Julian
Richings is great, though. If there's one thing I certainly enjoyed,
it's Julian Richings' performance — a lot of energy. The supporting
cast is serviceable — nothing awful, nothing great. I felt the film was
too dark and the camera angles were poor; the cinematography wasn't
attractive at all, I had to squint far too many times to see what was happening. Unfortunately, half of this film also uses the
found-footage/mockumentary style, which means you'll get plenty of shaky
camerawork and conveniently malfunctioning cameras — why does the camera always malfunction when it's getting good? Ejecta is directed
by Chad Archibald and Matt Wiele from a screenplay written by Tony
Burgess. The film simply isn't engaging or entertaining. It has
interesting ideas, but the execution is severely flawed. The plot is
just so hollow and dull, it almost felt like I didn't watch film at all!
Overall, Ejecta is a bad film. It simply doesn't do anything
with its 80 minute runtime. There are a few chilling moments and some
decent ideas here, but the execution is bland. I never felt immersed and
I never felt frightened — in fact, I never felt engaged. The hollow
plot snowballs into many issues, like the horrid pacing, and the fragmented
storytelling doesn't help — in fact, the storytelling makes the editing feel sloppy as well. Julian Richings' performance is a saving
grace, but it's not enough to remedy the film's core problems. I mean, I
can't tell you how many times I was about to eject-a this film. (You get
it?) Avoid, or rent it if you're a big fan of aliens.
Score: 3/10
Parental Guide: Some strong violence and blood.
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