Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Podcast
      • Slice of SciFi 918: The Science of Game of ThronesDr Rebecca Thompson and the Science of “Game of Thrones”
      • Slice of SciFi Extra: Jennifer ReederJennifer Reeder on “Knives and Skin”
      • Slice of SciFi 917: The Science of Rick and MortyMatt Brady on “The Science of Rick and Morty”
      • Slice of SciFi Extra: John Suits on "3022"Director John Suits on “3022”
    • View all
  • TV Reviews
      • "Project Blue Book"“Project Blue Book” explores the threads of UFO reports
      • Manifest Season 1: 5 Episodes In5 Episodes In: “Manifest”
      • 5 Episodes In: Reverie5 Episodes In: “Reverie”
      • 5 Episodes In: Marvel's Cloak and Dagger5 Episodes In: “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger”
    • View all
  • Movie Reviews
      • In Fabric (2019)“In Fabric” feeds on longing, fetish and thwarted desire
      • The Aeronauts (2019)“The Aeronauts” explores challenging the status quo
      • Frozen II (2019)“Frozen II” continues the journey of Anna and Elsa in engaging ways
      • A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” fully captures the spirit of Mr. Rogers
    • View all
  • DVD Reviews
  • Columns
  • News
      • TV News
      • Film News
      • DVD News
      • Interviews
      • Events
      • Geeky, Funny & Weird
      • Online Entertainment News
      • Music News
      • On Stage
      • Space News

Slice of SciFi

This is How We Geek Out: Interviews, Reviews & More

  • Writers, After Dark
  • Horror Happenings
  • Old School Blerds
  • The Babylon Podcast
  • Slice of SciFi TV
  • Contact Us
Reviewing “Uncanny” What happens when you can't tell the difference between human and robot?

Reviewing “Uncanny” What happens when you can't tell the difference between human and robot?

November 17, 2015 By Summer Brooks 1 Comment

Warning: there are harsh opinions and likely some spoilers involved regarding the ending of this film, so proceed accordingly.

This is an intriguing film, with a complex story that upon rewatch reveals extra layers, but definitely isn’t wrapped up at the end with a neat little bow.

The secrecy surrounding the inventor and his projects, the unusual request that only the reporter, Joy, be allowed into the facility every day for a week, and that she cannot bring any electronic devices into the facility at all (limiting her to pad & pen), and the initial progress where Joy and David become closer while he learns to open up more and she rediscovers the excitement that working with robotics used to give her, all add up to compelling story to watch unfold. Adding in the thriller element of the questions surrounding Adam’s emergence and his reaction to this relationship unfolding before him that he has never experienced and can’t understand brings a unique tension to the rest of the movie that complements the story being told. The ending even fits in with the thriller aspect, and the twist adds a new layer and makes you re-evaluate everything else that previously happened in the movie.

Uncanny
UNCANNY: David (Mark Webber), Joy (Lucy Griffiths)

But for me, the ending doesn’t hold up as well as the rest of the movie after stopping to think about how it all fits together later. That could also just be me overthinking a few things.

I did enjoy this movie; the cinematography is both expansive and claustrophobic at the same time, making excellent use of the unique space they were in, and the story is compelling and keeps your attention the entire way through by making you question what truly is going on almost every step of the way.

But still, despite the excellent acting and interesting portrayal of technology and humanity becoming several steps closer to merging, there was still something about the story that thoroughly annoyed me… and not being able to put my finger on exactly what it was bothered me for a couple of weeks.

Then during a rewatch of the movie (long after interviewing the director), the off pieces fell together. I don’t think it was a conscious choice by the filmmakers, and I’m fairly certain that me being annoyed by what transpired is just a reaction to a personal hot button, but since it’s an integral part of the story, I feel the need to point it out.

After the week-long “interview” is over, David and his wealthy benefactor seem to think nothing of lying and creating a scandal that discredits Joy as a reporter and ruins her reputation and any possibility of continuing that career, as well as any chance of a future career in robotics, the field she just rediscovered her love for. Having the unwitting investigator or reporter be targeted as someone who needs to be silenced is a well-used trope and not necessarily all that egregious a tactic when used, be the target male or female.

But there was a seemingly throwaway comment earlier in the film, where Joy is asked why she works at all, since she’s independently wealthy from having created a popular and lucrative video game franchise. At first it seems like an innocent question that one would ask to learn more about someone you’re interested in, but given the later developments, it adds an unintentionally sinister undertone to why these people selected Joy… she’s a woman who knows the field, and the true primary goal of the interview was to “experiment” on Joy, with their findings being her seduction and her reactions to having sex (and if one wants to shine a harsh light on what happened, it was her rape because when given under false pretenses, it’s no longer freely given consent).

There is also the implication that this was going to be an intentional quashing of the article through discrediting her, which means the end of her journalism career. But hey, that’s all okay because she’ll still be able to support herself and live a good life, and we needed an expedient way to show how truly evil David’s bosses are.

Uncanny

Additionally, learning that she wasn’t the first one subjected to the predatory nature of the seduction and “sexual testing” truly adds a deeply sinister and cruel aspect to the project, and perhaps adds some subtext to why David asked the question about her working when she didn’t have to… was a previous test subject completely ruined with no other options to turn to, and does he feel guilt about that? There are no answers for that, and for me, the only mitigating part of the ending was the seeming impression that David himself is as much a victim of the project as the previous “test subjects”… real people, professionals in the robotics field who were duped, and likely also raped and destroyed by the needs of testing the limits of the project.

Also, Rainn Wilson as the devious billionaire with ulterior “national security” motives plotting to use David’s technology to jump the surveillance state to new levels? Absolutely does not work. Maybe it’s because he plays the same character in everything I’ve ever seen him in, but since he’s only in this movie for a few minutes, it’s not a big deal. Still, suspension of disbelief borders on impossible with his end scene.

Either way, my personal reactions to certain story choices don’t detract from the intriguing nature of the rest of the film, and hasn’t caused me to not want to watch the movie again (which I already have). I don’t hate the ending and I won’t suggest people not watch it; I just question the story choices made there and their implications. The acting performances by David Clayton Rogers and Mark Webber alone are worth the watch.

For more about Uncanny, check out our interview with director Matthew Leutwyler.


For ten years, inventor David Kressen has lived in seclusion with his inventions, including Adam, a robot with incredible lifelike human qualities. When reporter Joy Andrews is given access to their unconventional facility, she is alternately repelled and attracted to the scientist and his creation. But as Adam exhibits emergent behavior of anger and jealousy towards her, she finds herself increasingly entangled in a web of deception where no one’s motives are easily decipherable.

Uncanny
Actors: Mark Webber, Lucy Griffiths, David Clayton Rogers
Directors: Matthew Leutwyler
Format: Multiple Formats, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Rated: Unrated
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
DVD Release Date: November 3, 2015
Run Time: 85 minutes

Uncanny
3

Summary

A story about emerging consciousness wrapped as a noir psychological thriller, Uncanny toys with the notions of humanity and emotions while bringing up a handful of other uncomfortable behaviors.

Sending
User Review
0 (0 votes)
TwitterFacebookEmail

Filed Under: DVD Reviews Tagged With: Indie Films

Related Posts

Occupation (2018)
“Occupation” satisfies that scifi adventure itch you didn’t realize you had
Slice of SciFi #255: Conversation with Shane Felux (Director, “Trenches”)
“Prodigy” Engages in a Suspenseful Battle of Wills

Comments

  1. Jamie says

    September 25, 2016 at 1:16 am

    SPOILER ALERT IN COMMENT: When I had initially started this film, I lost interest and shut it off. I ended up giving it a second chance which was beneficial to my entertainment. Although I had a hunch that the character David was actually the robot, (among other things, I found it hard to believe a man would lose to such and intellectual machine at a mere game of chess) I lost all thought of that through the characteristics he began to show with Lucy Griffiths character. Either way, it was a total mind play, and I enjoy films with such orient. Definitely a ‘nerd’ film worth watching. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Search in posts
Search in pages
Filter by Categories
Active Contests
Audio Productions
Awards News
Book News
Book Reviews
Columns
Comics News
DVD News
DVD Reviews
Entertainment Business News
Events
Fan Films
Fan Productions
Film News
Film Reviews
Gaming News
Geeky, Funny & Weird
Human Interest
Interviews
Music News
On Stage
Online Entertainment News
Science News
Slice of SciFi
Slice Video News
Space News
Specials
Technology News
TV News
TV Reviews

Listen to Slice of SciFi

iTunes
Google Play Podcasts
iHeart Radio
Player.FM
RSS
 

Subscribe to Podcast

Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsTuneInAndroidStitcheriHeartRadioRSS

Keep Up With Slice of SciFi

  • Movie & TV Reviews

Recent Comments

  • Joyce Gravino on Giveaway: “Drawing Dragons and Fantasy Characters”: “The fact that it states practice pages included.”
  • Jazz on Giveaway: “Drawing Dragons and Fantasy Characters”: “The colors and drawing style (detailed or abstract). ??”
  • JoKing on Giveaway: “Drawing Dragons and Fantasy Characters”: “The colour palette.”
  • Kirsten Lyon on Giveaway: “Drawing Dragons and Fantasy Characters”: “Vibrancy of color”
  • Daniel M on Giveaway: “Drawing Dragons and Fantasy Characters”: “drawing dragons catches my eye”
Tweets by @sliceofscifi
It's Okay, Pluto

Slice of SciFi
1121 Annapolis Rd PMB 238
Odenton MD 21113
602-635-6976

Artwork:
Slice of SciFi spiral logo courtesy of Tim Callender

Theme Music:
Slice of SciFi music and themes
courtesy of Sci-Fried

Sister Sites:
Writers, After Dark
Horror Happenings
Old School Blerds
Slice of SciFi TV

Copyright © 2005–2019 · Magazine Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in