‘The Protos Experiment’ Review
Stars: Anja Akstin, Fred Thomas Jr., Ricky Herrera, Trista Robinson, Mike Ferguson, Justin Dray, Melinda DeKay | Written by Brian Avenet-Bradley, Simon Clark | Directed by Brian Avenet-Bradley, Laurence Avenet-Bradley
“He needs to kill him before sleeping beauty wakes up!”
30 years later, and those shoddy B-movie sci-fis of the 90s are back on trend, and the latest throwback is The Protos Experiment. From tag team filmmakers, Brian and Laurence Avenet-Bradley, comes their latest collaboration, a delve into sci-fi, a transition away from their horror back catalogue.
Opening immediately with physical menace and brute mystery, a group of strangers find themselves individually chained up, in a darkened warehouse-esque environment, with one of the characters – John (Fred Thomas Jr.) chained to a full-on unit of a man, a human beast even, whose focus and aggressions are dictated by a dystopian head mechanism.
Alongside John, we find Kyra (Anja Akstin) established as the other central character throughout this act of the film, whilst we delve and debate – alongside the characters themselves – why and how they have ended up in such a bizarre and brutal situation. But they’re not alone. After managing to defeat their initial aggressor, John and Kyra find themselves respawning in new, contained environments and alongside unfamiliar, often bizarre characters. They even find themselves unfamiliar with one another. What is going on? Who is behind this?
The Protos Experiment presents itself as a sci-fi with elements and themes of mind control, reality, and general dystopia. Running with the vibe of a 90s throwback, this sci-fi excels well in maintaining its secrets and back story, keeping the viewer as bewildered as its characters, for as long as the big reveal is deemed necessary. But in this instance, The Protos Experiment does seem to drop in quality or, at least, completely change its ambience once the secrets are out there. In this notion, the film is limited in choice but to revert to the protagonists closing down on background antagonists behind the chaos witnessed.
In terms of being a B-movie production, obvious limitations find themselves present in the location usage. Not an issue, but a repetition of location, with overly dim lighting, suggests that the budget was spent elsewhere. But given the story at hand, The Protos Experiment utilises its location limitations to the fullest it can.
Under the direction of Brian and Laurence, Anja Akstin and Fred Thomas Jr. deliver performances that feature progressions in quality that run in parallel with the film’s overall quality. Once the third act is commenced, and an obvious dip in quality is present, Ricky Herrera’s Nev steps up in importance, replacing the central aspect of Thomas Jr.’s John character. Herrera is fine, but his character just doesn’t gel as well with Akstin’s Kyra as John did earlier in the film.
Ultimately, Brian and Laurence Avenet-Bradley have made a fun sci-fi that, in tone, fits in well with most straight-to-video sci-fis of yesteryear. The first half of the film is brilliant. The greatest enjoyment within The Protos Experiment is outright how bizarre and mysterious it is. The mystique in its gritty presentation is a true genre beauty.
