Short Film Review “Autonomous” Ride-Sharing, disastrous date nights, malfunctioning tech, and taking a horridly WRONG way home pays off in devilishly scary ways
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First, the Recap:
A nice evening on the town. For many, the weekend brings about opportunities to finally relax, get out with someone special, or enjoy time with family. Perhaps in particular, it’s that dinner date with the wife that aims to be a highlight. Of course, all goes smoothly, conversations are engaging and positive, ultimately followed by a pleasant drive home for a nightcap, and peaceful sleep. Yes, that’s ideal. At least, when things actually GO in that direction.
Unfortunately, for couple Amy (Erin Áine) and Derek (Domenic Jungling), the night in question, yes, included dinner out, but with his parents, which didn’t exactly go swimmingly. Now, taking a self-driving Gomo home, the pair are having less than amicable conversations about, well, everything in life. However, when it seems things couldn’t get worse, they do. When their ride medium goes askew, they find themselves in a horrifying circumstance with no way out.
Next, my Mind:
OK….so….there are most assuredly certain concepts out there when it comes to modes of travel that are decidedly unsettling for me. Well, more so ONE in particular. Self-driving vehicles. I am just being transparent and frank that I still don’t believe something be WHOLLY “controlled” by a computer can anticipate EVERY POSSIBLE instance we as drivers might encounter on the road and be READY to actually HANDLE it. This stated, let’s add an an element of Skynet into it (perhaps at least the notion of hacking or some other means of involuntary control-taking!), place an unwary and highly-displeased-with-each-other couple in the back of said vehicle, send them on an unwanted excursion into the night, and have a “I don’t EVER want to go to the woods or down a country road AGAIN!!!” thrown in for good measure. OH….plus a now-ingrained, mind-numbing dread of mists and black hoodies.
What DOES this all equal? This critic will say it’s the creatively clever, down-to-earth, admittedly fear-inducing “Black Mirror”-meets-creature feature magic we discover through an equally intelligent and uniquely orchestrated presentation format as devised by the diabolically entertaining minds of director/producer/cinematographer/editor Kyle Valle,writer Sean Overbeeke, producer Erin Áine, executive producer Laryssa Emeigh(Goodlad), and associate producer Anthony (Tony) Lopez. Valle and Áine, the brilliance behind the utterly nerd-tastic comedic horror romp “ZombieCON Vol. 1 (review here), trade the laughs for authentic scares while putting a decidedly eerie realism to the events depicted that WILL cause you to swear off remotely entrusting that self-driving rideshare you so desperately believed you wanted to try out at least once. Um…..NAH!
An exercise in the haunting specters of life’s challenges, distinct automotive-based claustrophobia, situations being totally out of your control, technology gone severely awry, things that go bump in the night….and having a willingness to constructively talk differences out (come on, people. Play nice, make up, and know it’s all able to be smoothed over!)….the narrative sees a couple having their already tense night out get monstrously worse in slow-burn but greatly effective fashion when the self-driving, Uber-like Gomo they are supposedly taking home manages to take some REALLY bad alternate routes. What stands out from the start is that this short film unfolds in what amounts to sixteen micro “episodes”, all filmed from the vantage point of horizontal cell phone screen-style imagery that genuinely manages to make the events we witness “hit” more strongly. I will honestly say I am not sure HOW, but it simply WORKS here.
As hinted at above, what we view in the story at first is straightforward and operating within a character-centric dramatic tone and structure, which suits this effort well, and isn’t at all distracting since it provides the backbone for when we get to the horror aspect, which launches things into a next level stratosphere of abject menace, fright, and one deeply unnerving ambiance of helplessness that we as the viewer share with the characters. It is primarily a play on ANY overall dimension of experience where we find ourselves at a complete disadvantage and have NO way out of it…except THROUGH it…which can be uncomfortable, much less deadly as is the case here! But again, make no mistake, this film is horror entertainment as it should be as well, without being so absurd that it’s laughable. This IS a serious film, and a credit to Valle & Co’s consistent striving to delivery something with ORIGINALITY, which they’ve accomplished once more.
The finale is perfection for what we’ve been through, even if expected. This IS the horror genre after all, folks. Certain things we WANT to expect! What strikes me is that one can pull a wealth of additional thematic sidebars initially…the pressures and judgements of in-laws, not living up to our own goals or dreams, self-criticism, lingering insecurities, jealousy, AI, recalling what “once was” and that seems lost in present moments, and what ifs all have their instances between the two main characters here. Funny enough, it delivers that believability to the film from a human standpoint, and how it then all gets intermixed with sheer terror only serves to amplify things….and narrow the focus down to ONE last imperative idea…..survival! There’s a genius exemplified here, and ultimately it only makes this critic more greatly anticipate what could be coming next from this amazingly talented filmmaking duo of Valle & Áine!
After what I felt was such a superbly executed performance in the aforementioned “ZombieCON Vol. 1”, Áine returns with a character that is far more…subdued….(at least at first) before she amps up the energetic strains of all-encompassing panic via her role as Amy, a perfectly normal, successful, and confident woman who’s not having the ideal date night at all, only going from awful to horrifically alarming to top it all off. Trying her level best to assuage a very rattled husband, her worries get supplanted by something far more sinister when the self-driving ride-share they are in takes on a life and destination of its own (?…hmmm) making and leads her and the hubby into chaos. I love the subtle dramatic intensity Áine embodies during the segments leading up to the anarchy, and then the credible magnitude of fierce distress she exudes when the events at hand ask for it. Another excellent performance that smartly befits Amy’s necessary demeanor.
It’s a similar approach that is demonstrated by Jungling, as the actor infuses his performance with a same mix of quieter yet fervent poise and then maintains it even in the initial phases of “when things go really wrong” before finally releasing all-out frenetic energy when all goes really south through his role as Derek. A man whose confidence and self-image isn’t in a good place coming off a frustrating dinner with his parents, he fights and resists all the efforts his wife tries to calm him down with. Combative rather than agreeable, things are tense between he and Amy until something much direr comes about, and his instinct to protect as well as problem solve kicks in. But will it be enough? I enjoyed Jungling’s ability to play a character who feels like the victim of everyone’s else’s scrutiny but then makes all attempts to BE a defect hero. A great performance throughout and, as with Áine, it totally fits Derek’s necessary personality.
The primary supporting role arrives via Thomas Mulnix, and let me tell you, he chews up scenery in a manner that is so deliciously understated yet overflowing with the manner of acute, consummate, well-controlled and harrowingly portrayed threat being represented. Talk about amping up palpable stress in scenes! It was masterful. Additional appearances are made by Elijah Passmore, Sydney Jonas, and Jeremiah Baker. So, in total, “Autonomous” is another unequivocal winner, a worthwhile homage to its foundational genre while offering a solidly delivered ode to modernity, a tech-terror mash-up that bleeds into both realms with beautifully crafted skill, purpose, and carloads of relentless edginess. Finally….back to that whole self-driving vehicle thing……trust issues after watching this, anyone? Me thinks…..YES!!
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
