Indie scifi films are becoming more and more common, and technological advances in both digital cameras and editing, design and rendering software are making it easier for filmmakers with big vision but small budgets to bring the projects they want to fruition.
The Beyond is a fine example of out of the box storytelling and VFX, and the documentary style perspective adds a great deal of subtext to the history that unfolds as we watch what happens to the world when an anomaly in orbit opens up the potential for humanity to expand our ability to explore beyond our world.
What starts out as an internal space agency corporate video series turns into a documentary about Earth’s encounter with a space-based anomalous astronomical entity… something they call The Void. The Void appears to be a cross between a wormhole and a collapsing star, which has the scientists in disagreement about what it is, but everyone involved knows that we have to explore it to discover whether this is a first contact situation. Is this anomaly a threat, a method of communication with an unknown sentience, or something else entirely?
As the story progresses, we meet a number of scientists from the Space Agency who are involved with discovering the nature of The Void and what it means for humanity. Various approaches are tested to see how best to explore The Void, and after a few setbacks with probes, we are introduced to a secret joint project with the military, advanced Human 2.0 prototypes that are a melding of human consciousness with mechanical bodies, better capable of withstanding the stresses of deep space.
We follow members of the agency through several crises, as they are still trying to unravel the nature of The Void, and several twists in the story revealing the true nature of the anomaly with suggestions at it’s origin and leading to more questions about what may lie beyond our solar system and deeper into the universe.
The Beyond is a well-crafted addition to the found footage faux documentary genre, with a story inside the story, a few mysteries and twists and stunning cinematography.
Rating: 3.5 stars
And be sure to listen to our interview with filmmaker HaZ Dulull
The Beyond tells a fascinating and exhilarating story chronicling the ground-breaking mission which sent astronauts – modified with advanced robotics, through a newly discovered wormhole known as the Void. When the mission returns unexpectedly, the space agency races to discover what the astronauts encountered on their first of its kind interstellar space journey.
Cast: David Bailie, Jane Perry, Brian Deacon, Amy Argyle, Kosha Engler, Nigel Barber
Written and Directed by: Hasraf ‘HaZ’ Dulull
Website: hazfilm.com
"The Beyond": A gorgeous extraterrestrial encounter docu-drama
Summary
The Beyond is a fine example of out of the box storytelling and VFX, and the documentary style perspective adds a great deal of subtext to the history that unfolds as we watch what happens to the world when an anomaly in orbit opens up the potential for humanity to expand our ability to explore beyond our world.
