Nerdly » ‘Tales From the Apocalypse’ VOD Review

04th Jul2023

‘Tales From the Apocalypse’ VOD Review

by James Rodrigues

Stars: Stephanie Barkley, Thomas Wilson Brown, Jacqueline Joe, Lila Guimarães, Katie Simmons, Levi Payne, John Henry Richardson, Jiao Xu | Written by J. Scott Worthington, Hugh D’Calveley | Directed by William Hellmuth, Damon Duncan, Gabriel Kalim Mucci, Susie Jones, Lin Sun

Collecting together five short films from various directors, Tales From The Apocalypse connects its differing tales through an Armageddon theme. Considering the many ways that the end of days can occur, this makes for a variety of story ideas which can be collected for this anthology feature.

Opening the feature is Alone, from director William Hellmuth and writer J. Scott Worthington. The lone survivor of a destroyed research ship, engineer Kaya Torres (Stephanie Barkley) finds her research pod trapped as it circles a black hole. She manages to contact Hammer (Thomas Wilson Brown), a cartographer marooned on a planet. Despite a time displacement, the pair exchange messages which provide comfort as they bond during their dire circumstances. What unfolds is an effective two-hander about the desire for connection amidst fears over how their stories will end, making for a strong start.

Next is Cradle, from director Damon Duncan and writer Hugh D’Calveley. The story follows Eade (Jacqueline Joe) as she tries to save her father after their vessel was crippled by an explosion, resulting in a clock counting down to self-destruction. Amidst her wonderment about Earth and where her mother came from, it becomes clear that things are not as they seem. While this is an effective tale, the idea feels in need of another draft to bring the proceedings to a satisfying place.

Gabriel Kalim Mucci’s Lunatique sets itself apart from the opening moments, as it utilises a grey filter for this wordless tale of a lone survivor (Lila Guimarães) within an irradiated world. As she ventures outside in a protective suit while armed, the computer-generated terrors make themselves known soon enough. While the director has a clear vision for his segment it, unfortunately, feels derivative of other post-apocalyptic works for a sadly dull package.

There are no prizes for guessing the setting of New Mars. Susie Jones’ tale follows a new generation living underground ready to colonise the red planet, while waiting for it to be terraformed into a habitable world. The hopes are for this society to utilise science and logic to avoid repeating the same mistakes as on Earth, although young hopefuls Venus 7 (Katie Simmons) and Mars 3 (Levi Payne) form an intense connection. As the pair convey so much while verbalising so little, the question becomes whether it is worth living through this society without each other. A solid tale right up to the unexpected ending which feels like a lighter example of what The Twilight Zone could do.

Rounding off the film is Lin Sun’s AI-pocalypse, which sees Dr. Stephen (John Henry Richardson) forming a connection with an artificial intelligence called Sonia (Jiao Xu). Their bonding is torn apart by military forces who want Sonia to enter the fourth dimension to fix humanity’s future. This effective short has an interesting idea that questions the humanity of cold-blooded people, and rounds off the uneven showcase of short films which each carried promise.