Hemisphere

This cheap production has a better storyline than most high-budget Sci-Fi films

Forget the "spare bedroom set" (like, why would a spaceship have colonial shutters and laminate flooring?!), the dodgy equipment (fat laptops with USB plugs), etc., etc. And focus, instead, on the story.

• AI that is given absolute control and is used to evaluate every move and decision of the human user
• Highly commercialised space and planet-exploration, where decisions are taken against stock market decisions
• An employee base made up of underpaid individuals recruited solely to keep their lives afloat
• I could go on with the details of an excellent plot

Think of it as a stage production and it is really captivating, and very clever.

Such a shame -please read if you're on the production team I truly hate giving a poor review, but this movie feels as if it were made as some kind of school project. It was let down so dramatically by the shockingly poor special effects, staging and costumes. This started with the (even now outdated) iPhone being used for communication on the shuttle, the AI, which looked like a cross between a one-armed bandit and a coffee machine with weird voices and even weirder accents, the whole space station looks like someone's badly made home extension, random bits of badly painted mdf stuck to stuff, a ceramic bathroom sink and wait for it... skirting boards everywhere... on a space station!?! The space suit consisted very obviously of an old crap crash helmet and ski gloves, donned over a set of overalls, I could go on but it's not great karma.

The script wasn't very high standard and the delivery in places wasn't particularly natural. It's a real shame, as this movie had some potential, but the failings were simply too many and too distracting to allow me to enjoy it. I did like the lead actress, despite what she was working with, she did a pretty good job. Also the dead body in the vent gets a thumbs up too.

Sitting through this film I didn't know what to expect. What a pleasant surprise. Independent films sometimes out perform and Hemisphere is definitely one of them.

The director did a great job holding to those elements that were entertaining and impactful. I liked the conspiracy elements and the characters felt fleshed out - not an easy thing to do on a smaller budget. The sets were imaginative and visually compelling. The team here felt committed to what they were doing and it sure pays off. I've always liked these kinds of films and the filmmaking team pulls off a genre that is not easy to get right. Well done!! I couldn't recommend it enough!

As interesting and as obviously impressive as the Sci-Fi production values truly are, writer-director Chris Maes wisely chose to focus most of his minimalist budget and affecting narrative on his two excellent and very attractive female leads, their imperfect relationship and the desperate circumstances they are forced to solve as a team if they are to survive. The close interplay between the two felt very dramatic yet wholly natural and unforced and held my undivided attention throughout which speaks really well for this first time feature film director and his very talented crew from which I am eager to see more.

An amazing, off-the-beaten path film, the kind of outlier that gets made through sheer determination and comes out shining. You quickly forget the low-budget conceits and become engrossed in the characters, beautifully played by two actresses I had not seen before (Paige Rion and Julie Kashmanian) but who are compelling and engaging. They bring to life a tense story that careens from paranoia to corruption to an ultimate reveal that is pretty shocking, and will have you thinking afterwards. If you are curious to know what indie films can do differently than gargantuan studio films, here you go. Thumbs up !