ARQ (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – Trapped in a lab and stuck in a time loop, a disoriented couple fends off masked raiders while harboring a new energy source that could save humanity.

My Take – I am a massive fan of the science fiction genre, but equally frown upon the genre due to its lack of talented writers, the result I rarely check out very low budgeted film, who mainly suffer due to their lack of funds and inability to perfectly execute their innovative ideas. However, trusting how great the original content of Netflix has been recently, I decided to check this film out. Netflix pretty much had me at dystopian future and time travel. That said, I also had no idea this film was directed and written by Tony Elliott, a writer on Syfy’s 12 Monkeys and Orphan Black. Had I known that, I would have easily overcomed my initial fears. I wasn’t expecting a lot but was definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. This flick is smart! Suffice it to say, there are so many twist and turns within the loops themselves, there is no way to predict where the story is going next. I don’t know about you, but that is thrilling for me as a viewer. There’s nothing worse that figuring out the ending of a film, TV show or book in the first act. Right? Its based in the future but that doesn’t impact too much on the film. The earth is dying, the air toxic. Mega corporations rule and of course you have the obligatory resistance. But this is more back ground information you pick up as the film progresses and just supplies character motivation. While you may initially think, that the film would disappoint you with its poor acting (as Robbie Amell & Rachael Taylor aren’t exactly known for their acting skills), hapzard plot or cheap set pieces. However, this film was very well acted and the low budget didn’t distract. Trust me, if you like your sci-fi films packed with frantic running, and a solid twist every 15 minutes, this film is your cup of tea.

The story follows hero Renton (Robbie Amell) and his companion Hannah (Rachael Taylor) in an undisclosed time and location in the future. Each day starts with them waking up in bed then being taken captive. Each scenario ends when they are killed. What’s causing the loop? It turns out that, besides getting in a workout every day, Renton is the inventor of the ARQ, which Hannah helpfully describes as “an unlimited energy machine that also produces unlimited time.” For the most part the whole film takes place in one cramped house. The invaders aren’t what they seem, but then neither is the couple. The basic premise is a couple keep reliving the same home invasion over and over, and try to use memories of the previous attempts to their advantage. Only there develops an excellent twist. Too say more on this point would ruin the film. The premise of the film is brilliant in its simplicity, and it’s perfectly implemented into the reduced space of the main character’s house. This means that the post-apocalyptic theme is expressed through conversations. However, that doesn’t make the film monotonous at all, because the screenplay is fascinating and full of interesting dilemmas the main character has to solve, sometimes with intelligence, and sometimes, with his fists (or poisonous gas). His girlfriend Hanna is involved into the experience, bringing an emotional component which makes the aggression from the villains more personal. even though she isn’t as defenseless as she seems. The re-tellings have enough variety with each go-through adding more to the plot twist to keep the viewer engaged. I didn’t find myself looking at my phone or seeking other distractions, as I am want to do with less captivating films, so the story line was well constructed and the acting good enough to be engaging. This film is very familiar in the sense that the “groundhog day” concept has been beaten to death, then you wake up and it’s beaten to death, then you wake, etc. However, I felt the film did an amazing job of realizing this, and ushered us into the story line of continuous time-loops relatively fast and efficient, while still keeping me intrigued to the background story taking place. There is a lot of information and history left to the imagination which will definitely turn viewers away, though I personally found quite refreshing.

The loop concept has been done many times, from which Groundhog Day and more recently Edge of Tomorrow are the most memorable, and it’s easy to burn your fingers on too many mistaken details that distracts from the story. In this film, I think they did a very good job. Sure, at times the film does feel a bit like a low-budget art-house film, due to the limited sets and modest special effects. That’s okay though, because the characters are stuck in a time loop so it makes sense they’re reliving the same events in a specific location. Ultimately, it’s the subtle “time” changes that occur and building toward the big climactic finale that engage us while on this insane ride. Debutant writer/director Tony Elliott, follows Source Code‘s footsteps but adds to the formula his own sets of clever twists. He stuck to the main story line without jam packing a compendium of background knowledge into the film. Which is quite clear as he is isn’t interested in emotions — at least, none other than the cheesy and thudding variety. It mainly goes all in on the relationship between Ren and Hannah, which is, to be fair, much more interesting and original than is typical of domestic thriller romantic leads. There is not a lot explained about why the world is dying or why Renton is hiding and from who exactly, but the story more develops around using the time loop in their advantage, which only works for so long. However, the writing left a lot to desire. For example, the explanation of the loop thing was quite dull and unsatisfying. Plus every now and then, a character manages to turn the tables in an interesting way, playing off his or her foe’s weaknesses, figuring out what they do and do not know about the situation; mostly, it just turns into a series of scenes where characters chase each other around a house with no objective other than to do something other than what got them killed the last time. Eventually, for the sake of my own sanity, I stopped thinking about what I would try to do in their shoes because I realized the characters were never, ever going to do that (there comes a point where it would be extremely beneficial for the characters to just talk to each other about what’s happening, but it takes forever for them to finally do so — and even then, they don’t try to strategize or do anything that would meaningfully give them an advantage). The film tries to build it all into that aforementioned house-of-cards complexity but doesn’t really earn that plot twist when it arrives. The performances were quite good. Robbie Amell and Rachael Taylor could not have done a better job with their roles. The two leads killed it, keeping me at the edge of my seat the entire time. The two together put in a strong with-or-without-you performance. And Shaun Benson makes Sonny a force to be reckoned with. On the whole, ‘ARQ’ is a fun little fast-paced and compelling science fiction thriller which manages to keep you engaged throughout.