This sci-fi thriller is like a modern day extended episode of the Twilight Zone. It’s intense, bizarre, and utterly captivating, and manages to do it all without any special effects. I can’t think of any other science fiction movies that gets the job done so well without heavily relying on special effects in some way.
Written and directed by James Ward Byrkit, Coherence tells the story of a group of friends having a dinner party on the night when a comet is passing in close proximity to Earth. The comet apparently has some strange effects: cell phones brake, the lights go out, and…alternate universes blend together like army stew–everything you have goes in the pot.
As odd things begin happening, some characters decide to leave the supposed safety of the house to investigate the lone dwelling on the road that still has electricity. But are the characters who left the same as who return? Did they even really leave? Was that note really written if no one ever wrote it?
It’s a mind-bender.
My only complaint–and it’s probably because I’m from Texas and this movie takes place in California–is how when things start going crazy, no one has a gun; their only defense is a baseball bat. Eight adults, zero guns? Yeah, it would have played out differently in Texas. This is a common issue I find with thrillers and horror movies, though. You can typically tell where a character lives based on how they defend themselves.
Regardless, Coherence is top-notch. Watch it on Amazon.