‘Replicator’ Review
Stars: Brey Noelle, Brian Spangler, Jim Azelvandre, Kayla Royko, KateLynn E. Newberry, LeJon Woods | Written by Mark Andrew Hamer, Russ Lindway | Directed by Mark Andrew Hamer
Replicator, the new film from director Mark Andrew Hamer (The Hunting, What the Ride Reveals) and co-writer Russ Lindway (Yes, This Is Comedy!) comes with a wonderfully comic book styled poster, a title that makes you think of the Resonator from Lovecraft’s From Beyond and a plot that recalls Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Darby Vincent (Brey Noelle; Secret Life of a Dominatrix, The Woman with My Face) is having a bad day. First, a judge let the abusive husband of the woman she was representing walk free thanks to the incompetence of Sheriff Williams’ (Brian Spangler; Western World, Hellarious) the same married sheriff she’s having an affair with.
Then she comes home to find her father Ron (Jim Azelvandre; Wolves Against the World, Road Meat), whom she reluctantly allowed to move in with her, getting it on with Gina (Kayla Royko; Judge Not, Gross). And then goes off on her for interrupting them. It’s obvious that terminal cancer hasn’t made him change his insufferable ways. Or has it? She wakes the next morning to find him making her breakfast and swearing he’s changed. A few hours later he’s dead, a sticky black fluid leaking from his body.
Hamer and Lindway take a restrained, slow-burning approach to the first part of Replicator with an emphasis on Darby and her best friend Neila’s (KateLynn E. Newberry; Widow’s Point, Death Metal) revelation about Ron. That’s delivered in parallel with Medical Examiner Dillards (LeJon Woods; The North Witch, Homemakers) getting a revelation about what’s left of Ron.
Once it kicks into gear, however, Replicator becomes a twisted little film with several shocks and surprises to reward the viewer for their patience. There’s some excellent practical effects from David Greathouse (Inoperable, Tank Girl) and Sean Rodgers (Deepstar Six, Escape from Death Block 13). That includes a bizarre birthing scene that put me in mind of The Brood and Possession, shot with lighting that looks like it was inspired by Suspiria. I won’t spoil who does the birthing, but I will say they deserve a lot of praise for taking the scene from what looked like an excuse for some nudity to a memorably twisted scene.
Unfortunately, the plot as a whole doesn’t quite live up to the effects. The film runs seventy-five minutes including credits and feels rushed, especially when it comes to fleshing out its characters. That’s a frequent complaint with genre films, but in Replicator, with its themes of morality and the interactions of the characters, that lack of development is more noticeable. That’s especially true of Darby, who complains about her father’s lack of decency while she’s not only committing adultery but, as a prosecutor sleeping with the sheriff, a major conflict of interest.
The cast do their best to help alleviate that, and the scenes between Noelle and Newberry have a good chemistry and do feel like discussions between old friends. In the brief time he has before Ron’s death, Jim Azelvandre does create a memorable scumbag of a character. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, there’s little the others can do with such one note characters. That also extends to the Lovecraftian creature referred to as Mother, about all we know is she/it has been there “from the beginning”. A little more about its nature and ultimate goal would have helped things make a bit more sense.
From a technical standpoint, Replicator is solid, Sammy Lahiri (Motherly Lovecraft, Abduction Production) delivers some atmospheric cinematography and gets a lot of milage out of the basement where most of the final act takes place. His visuals get a boost from the audio work of sound designer Richard Maurer (The Notorious Finster, The Penguin) and composer Will Musser (God’s Not Dead, Escape the Field).
In the end, while Replicator is a good film, and a significant improvement over The Hunting, it unfortunately falls just short of being an excellent one. It’s still worth seeing for its scares, effects and a birth scene that makes a C Section look pleasant, it’s too bad that weak characterization holds it back.
Cranked Up Films released Replicator in select US theatres as well as to Digital and VOD Platforms on December 10th.
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