Coherence is a 2013 science fiction thriller, which was directed by James Ward Byrkit. The movie premiered at the Austin Fantastic Fest and followed Emily (Emily Baldoni) as she attends a party at Mike’s (Nicholas Brendon) house, with so-called friends. During the party, Emily and her boyfriend, Kevin (Maury Sterling), have an awkward run in with Kevin’s ex, Laurie (Lauren Maher).
The big kicker is that a comet is scheduled to pass over Earth, during the party. The sighting of the comet begins to cause strange occurrences for the friends. First, the screens on their cell phones break. Then, the electricity goes out. When they explore outside, they discover one house on the block has electricity. Since they believe this to be the sign of a generator, some decide to investigate.
During their wait, they hear a loud knock, which turns out to be nothing. Amid their confusion, the power turns back on and Amir (Alex Manugian) and Hugh (Hugo Armstrong) return with a strong box. When it is opened, they discover a pingpong paddle and pictures of all members of the group, with numbers on the back. Hugh refuses to tell the group what he was outside. Eventually, he tells the group that he looked inside the house’s window and saw a table, which was set for eight people.
At this point, the group begins to freak out and question whether Hugh circled around and looked into their window. Hugh decides to return to the house, with a handwritten note, which he’ll place on the door. Before he can leave, the group notices someone running around around. When they check the door, there is a note, which is an identical to the one, which Hugh wrote.
Is someone in the neighborhood playing tricks on this group of friends? Or is something sinister going on with the Earth, due to the passing of the comet?
Review
Coherence is definitely a thriller that will leave you guessing, even after the final credits. James Ward Byrkit should definitely be credit for this clever, intelligent science fiction writing. Each member of the cast should be credit with keeping their cool and pulling off their roles, despite some chaotic scenes. Overall, the film is fun and intriguing, but it isn’t perfect.
There were some poorly edited scenes, which ended up in untimely black screens. On the other hand, much of the dialogue in the beginning was a little cluttered to enjoy. Still, this definitely a worthwhile independent film, which explores relationships in a scientific setting. This is a thinking man’s film, which deserves a 7.5 out of 10.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
