More people should watch this time travel sci-fi on Netflix

There’s one thing you should know before jumping into 2019’s Synchonic.

Being a low-budget sci-fi movie, it doesn’t have an interesting premise. Not counting Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan as best friends. Not that his directors have helmed two Marvel’s episodes. Moon Knight.

Synchronic really annoys you with its plot holes and inconsistencies and nonsensical time travel mechanics until a miraculous counter-argument pops up inside your head and convinces you that everything makes sense.

Interestingly, this is a recommendation to watch Synchronic. An annoying, divisive, dark indie gem with a bright flash. It’s another taste of the exciting talent of directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (see 2017’s The Endless for a taste of twisted horror). Lean into the fury that Synchronic inspires, and you’ll end up with a — on the other hand — rewarding experience.

Mackie and Dornan play Steve and Dennis, two incredibly laid-back paramedics working in New Orleans. They are called in to treat a series of people who spit out incoherent stories after taking a drug called synchronic.

Steve and Dennis investigate the origins of the drug and its unlikely time travel capabilities, as well as their crumbling personal lives. Steve is a jaded ladies’ man, and Denise is stuck in a dysfunctional marriage.

The best synchronic episodes include the right sci-fi element. of Discovery. Steve and Dennis are walking down a dark street in the middle of the night, chatting about their normal lives, until they enter a house and find a shocking scene from a horror movie, where a man has been stabbed and a medieval sword is inexplicably emerging. wall.

Thanks to two plot devices, Steve finally took the drug himself. Synchronic is a place to delight with its stunning interior.

From its low-key premise, the flick sends Steve, and us, into the terrifying unknown. The threat of sudden and violent death looms over everything, because at this point in the travel story, Steve is a black man, and returning to certain places comes with other dangers.

The mechanics compulsively scoff at how the time-traveling potion works as Steve conducts experiments. The appearance of a single character that a record player matches is worth it alone. At one point, directors Benson and Moorhead shake things up by giving us a first-person perspective of Steve, putting us in the driver’s seat to experience what will happen next with the tension and unexpected darkness of the scene.

Other aspects of the drug, including a slight stretch following who is behind the creation, are finished. Also, while effective in some ways, the overall sense of realism can expose how ridiculous the drug’s potential is.

Still, handsome and clever directing and Steve’s dry sense of humor delivered with Mackie Mott’s pan swagger, shine above the synchronic obvious rough edges. The story is nowhere near perfect, tying itself to a delicately developed emotional core involving Steve, Dennis and Dennis’ daughter Brianna. (The tragic scene involving Steve’s dog is an example of determining weak behavior or willful attachment to our emotional heart.)

The synchronic bittersweet ending is disappointing but doesn’t diminish the impact of its larger parts. Hopefully, the flick will make you want to check out Benson and Morehead’s other films, four of which are part of a connected universe (some connections are stronger than others).

Synchronic is now streaming on Netflix. It can be slow, with occasional slurred speech and an out-of-control driving ending. You need intense movie-watching attention to pick up subtle details that explain what’s going on. And yet, whether or not it all makes sense is up to interpretation. take it Decide for yourself.