Brighton Sharbino and Dominic Monaghan in the thriller “Radioflash.” Photo courtesy of IFC Midnight.
Directed by: Ben McPherson
Written by: Ben McPherson
Starring: Brighton Sharbino, Dominic Monaghan, Will Patton
As recently as “Terminator: Dark Fate,” our future is unknowable; we cannot control it. Similarly, our futures are dictated by choice with Ben McPherson’s “Radioflash” sitting somewhere in between.
Radioflash is the former term for a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) in which a burst above the surface of the earth would fry every electric circuit, essentially sending humanity back into the Stone Age.
In the case of McPherson’s film, Reese (Brighton Sharbino) is a resourceful young lady living with her dad, Chris (Monaghan) in Seattle while Frank (Patton) lives off the grid. We learn quickly in the early parts of the story that Frank Chris’s ex-father in law.
McPherson sets up Reese’s backstory through flashbacks of her mother being wheeled into a hospital, being bedside as she dies. This gives rise to a totemic symbolism of death that permeates their journey to escape the pandemonium that ensues as people who are reliant on technology now scramble for anything that will keep them alive.
McPherson does a solid job of keeping the panic to a minimum, allowing Reese’s resourcefulness to stand out. The characters we meet along the way blend into the off-the-grid style of living that the migrating public of our expansion westward experienced back in the 1930’s. There is even a specific mention of the Dust Bowl.
Reese is someone of both worlds - that of a technophyte because she knows how to use radios and understands the limitations of the technology. She also has the patience to wait out a situation before taking action. Monaghan has a smaller role in the film, but is just as fundamental in giving Reese what she needs to survive. Their relationship was a parallel to the radioflash in a small way, giving her the energy she needed to move forward.
The cinematography by Austin F. Schmidt is the film’s highlight, Using the rocky terrain in the Washington mountains really heightens the sense of danger as Reese tries to find her grandfather.
The scenes in the cabin with a wheelchair-bound Maw (Fionnula Flanagan) were some of the most tense because of the closer quarters as Bill (Michael Filipowich) relentlessly chases after Reese as if she will go to the authorities for discovering them. Reese also discovers Quinn (Kyle Collin), someone who has been held captive. McPherson telegraphs the outcome, but maintains the tension just long enough to question the outcome - again a reflection of the fact that our choices dictate our future.
The dystopic nature of the story is, thankfully, not lined with zombies, although the look and feel of the film very easily could have supported it. Instead, “Radioflash” is a reflection on our reliance on technology and a look at how we would survive, or not survive without it and that understanding our history will give way to our future survival.
2.5 stars out of 4
