I saw this back in October when the film was screened at Twin Cities Film Festival. This film is yet another proof one does not need a big budget to create a compelling film, and a tight script certainly goes a long way. Time Lapse isn’t a time travel per se, not in the traditional sense anyway. The time aspect refers to the mysterious camera machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future.

The film is basically an ensemble piece of three characters living in the same apartment,  Callie (Danielle Panabaker), Finn (Matt O’Leary), and Jasper (George Finn). When one of them inadvertently stumbled into the machine during a routine property maintenance, things quickly unravel. The machine resides in the unit right across from theirs and somehow they’re the ones who end up in the pictures… only a day ahead.

I love the mystery aspect and the filmmaker creates a noir-ish ambience with the lighting and dramatic shadows. Given the low budget, the setting is constrained into this apartment and its courtyard, but that actually gives you a sense of claustrophobia that enhances the tension. The camera machine itself looks rather ominous and it made you wonder just what that thing is really capable of. What makes this sci-fi thriller intriguing is the psychology aspect of how the discovery affects each character and slowly transforms them before they realize what hits them. It amplifies the worst trait of each of them… whether it’s greed, desire or paranoia. It’s quite fun to watch how this discovery changes them and in turn their relationship with each other.

All three actors fit the roles nicely. I’m especially drawn to Finn’s character Jasper, I suppose the bad boys always have more fun. O’Leary is perhaps a bit too reserved and melancholy as Finn, though he does present a nice contrast to Jasper’s more impulsive nature. There’s a bit of love triangle going on between the three, as Callie & Finn are an item whilst Jasper isn’t quite subtle about his [lustful] feelings for Callie. As the only girl in the group, Callie is a bit of a mystery to me, but in a way it works for the story.

The script by Bradley King and BP Cooper is pretty tightly-focused whilst somehow still maintain a level of quirks and humor throughout. Jasper sure does some dumb things as his greed overtakes him. As he tries to use the machine for monetary gain, he ended up getting involved with some shady characters and you know things won’t end well. But yet the film still manages to surprise you in one violent scene. Even that scene isn’t devoid of humor, making you wince as well as laugh at the same time.

As with a lot time travel movies, the logic doesn’t always compute but the story is engaging and keeps you guessing right until the end. I have to admit that I didn’t see the twist coming, but once it’s revealed it made me think about some of the events that happened that lead to that point. It’s certainly in keeping with how the machine basically messes with the characters’ head, and how even they themselves were caught off guard by it in the end.

There are very few special effects in this movie, but the filmmaker did invest in creating this retro-looking camera machine that has that steam-punk quality to it. During the Q&A after the screening, King shared that he worked with a concept artist named Howard Schechtman and he made it clear I didn’t want any LEDs or lasers or computer chips, etc. They ended up using parts from an airplane junkyard, hardware stores, even those from the abandoned apartment complex itself. I thought that was pretty darn cool.

There’s a Hitchcock-ian vibe to this film, the minimalist setting is enhanced by an atmospheric score by Andrew Kaiser. This film won Indie Vision: Breakthrough Film award at last year’s Twin Cities Film Fest. It’s a well-deserved win as I’m VERY impressed by King’s feature film debut and would keep an eye out for what he’s going to do next.

This movie is now available on available on iTunes & Amazon.

Check out my interview with Bradley King and George Finn at 2014 TCFF

Have you seen Time Lapse? Well, what do you think?

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