Zone 414 (2021) Review

 Private investigator David Carmichael is hired to track down a missing person and teams up with an advanced humanoid A. I. to guide him through Zone 414, a dangerous city of robots.

With echos of Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 in terms of themes, director Andrew Baird and writer Bryan Edward Hill offering hits a sci-fi nerve. With heavy sound design, accompanied by Raffertie’s edgy music, Baird delivers an atmospheric moody piece with some great locations, sets and effects.

Thanks to James Mathe cinematography (even if a little clinical at times) it has interesting visuals. It tries to find it’s own identity, but by default finds itself emulating some classics. Which isn’t a bad thing, when it’s upfront and paying homage. Beneath some of the light theatrics of Zone 414, it borrows from the aforementioned films and some elements are reminiscent of; or in the vein of: Vice, Split Second, Cherry 2000, Westworld, Nirvana and The Machine to name a few.

The cast are solid enough, Jonathan Aris is on form and Olwen Fouéré leaves an impression, but like actors Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Colin Salmon they are sorely underused. Travis Fimmel is almost unrecognisable under make-up and has fun hamming it up as the filthy rich eccentric Marlon Veid. Antonia Campbell-Hughes who plays multiple versions of the same A. I. deserves a mention. Even though void of big action setups lead Guy Pearce offers plenty of weight and credence to the production and stops Zone 414 becoming a trope filled old hat. There’s also a good performance from Matilda Lutz as emotional A. I. Jane.

Sadly, leaving some interesting character beats until late in the game takes the edge off the twists and turns which hampers the pay offs. Editor Tony Cranstoun’s pacing is in keeping with the somber tone, but the handful of inserts of David Carmichael’s interview is debatably unnecessary, and may have sat better chronologically.

Overall, it’s a grower, it tries to give superior sci-fi thrillers a run for their money and certainly surpasses the numerous low budget CGI driven science fictions that find there way to VOD streaming platforms.