Review by Dennis D. McDonald

Tired of superhero movies? Want to watch something a bit more thoughtful and emotionally engaging? Or do you just enjoy clever time travel stories?

If so, check out Synchronic, one of the best SF movies I’ve seen recently.

The story: two paramedics, longtime friends, are encountering injuries and drug overdoses from a new drug that has hit the streets called “Synchronic.” As they delve into the mystery the teenage daughter of one of the paramedics goes missing, an apparent victim of the drug. The other paramedic, suffering from his own problems, investigates the drug. He discovers that taking the drug transports one into the past—but only for seven minutes at a time.

This bare outline might seem to make the whole time travel thing seem trivial and comic-book like. Yet how the story is executed elevates it far above that:

• Acting is excellent and dramatic conflicts are engaging and believable.

• The main setting of the story—how do these paramedics manage their high stress and often dangerous work—is gritty and realistic.

• The physical settings in and around New Orleans are evocative of urban and psychological decay.

• Music, reminiscent of the throbbing electronics of Annihilation, is spooky as hell.

• Photography and editing, coupled with sparing but high-quality special effects and set design, pull the viewer in through long choreographed takes.

Highly recommended if you’re looking for something different! 

Review copyright (c) 2023 by Dennis D. McDonald

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