Stasis: a short film about memory

September 15, 2010 4:36 PM

Statsis: A short film by Christian Swegal In the future, an Ex-Soldier is placed in virtual exercises to cure his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In the simulations, he sees glimpses of a mysterious girl, presumably someone from his past. When a Stranger appears in his facility offering answers, the Soldier finds himself once again asked to kill, this time for her...

Starring Reshad Strik, Beau Bridges, Ernie Hudson, and Rachel Specter

Directed by Christian Swegal
Produced by Ian Colhoun
Written by Benjamin Murphy
Executive Produced by Adam Hendricks
Cinematography by Max Goldman
Production Design by Zach Matthews
Costume Design by Marta Villalobos
Sound Design by Jamie Hardt
Edited by Christian Swegal & Tom Muldoon
Music by Cyril Morin

posted by clockworkjoe (16 comments total)

Uh, I just found this through an email list. I thought it was interesting enough for a post. I wish I knew Ernie Hudson.
posted by clockworkjoe at 5:11 PM on September 15, 2010

This is pretty long. Can't you just tell us which one is the Terminator?
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:12 PM on September 15, 2010

I can't watch this right now, but I've bookmarked it for when I get home. Are you guys suggesting this is a self-link? Any reason?
posted by brundlefly at 5:20 PM on September 15, 2010

I don't get the heavy criticism of this post. This place is starting to feel like slashdot.
posted by brenton at 5:30 PM on September 15, 2010 [8 favorites]

I thought it was pretty alright. Seemed well-made, but I'm no critic.

I liked that bit where he got the box, opened it, and then it cut to him opening it in his bedroom. Very nice, that part. Stuck with me the most.
posted by KChasm at 5:37 PM on September 15, 2010

That was really good, nicely made and interesting enough. I think the internet has made my attention span just right for shorts, I should look for some more.
posted by shinybaum at 5:42 PM on September 15, 2010

I agree with Brenton. For it being what looked like a small project, the film was very well made. I would have liked it to be longer, to expand on what seemed like an interesting view of AI but was, unfortunately, only introduced in the last five minutes, also it did seem a bit harried, everything pushed together for the alotted time.

Nice post though, still.
posted by lauratheexplorer at 5:43 PM on September 15, 2010

That was OK.

However, I'm sorry, but soldiers simply do not have hair like that, before or after their deployment.
posted by xthlc at 6:00 PM on September 15, 2010

[A few comments removed. If you have concrete concerns that a post is sketchy, send us an email or be clear about the substantial evidence if you're going to mention it in thread. Skip the vague doomsaying.]
posted by cortex at 6:04 PM on September 15, 2010

@brenton I don't mean to dump all over the post, it's just that there wasn't much of a writeup. It seemed like the synopsis had simply been pasted in, and that usually means astroturf. I could be wrong, and I'm sorry if I came off like a huge jackass.

And at least MeFi doesn't have that irritating "magic pagination" like slashdot.
posted by littlerobothead at 6:05 PM on September 15, 2010

I didn't think it was too bad. Not super original, and I've come to expect a lot better from Ernie Hudson, and the poor man's Colin Farrell was kind of meh, but it was an okay little diversion.
posted by Gator at 6:12 PM on September 15, 2010

I liked it, although I thought the lead was a bit bland. Looks like they had a pretty decent budget (beyond the name actors). I wonder how this was funded.
posted by brundlefly at 6:18 PM on September 15, 2010

I didn't write it up because I didn't want to risk spoiling the ending.
posted by clockworkjoe at 6:22 PM on September 15, 2010

I liked it, thought the flashbacks overdone and then...
posted by sfts2 at 6:31 PM on September 15, 2010

"poor man's Colin Farrell" ...awesome. Got milk coming outta my nose. As for the short, whats up with them JJ Abrams flares. I guess any scifi must have f'ed up lens flares everywhere from now on.
posted by anyokerin at 7:54 PM on September 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think they did this in videogame form about ten years ago. Called MGS2.
posted by WhitenoisE at 9:06 AM on September 16, 2010