Remote (2010)

Remote (2010) Written, Produced and Directed by Marc Roussel


On a cold February night, Matt loses his cable signal during a severe snowstorm. He's left with channel after channel of static, until he comes across a station that is the mirror image of his apartment, but 30 years in the past. He soon discovers that he can communicate with Justine, the young woman residing in the apartment on the television. As the two get to know each other, Matt discovers that Justine died on that very night 30 years ago. Can he change her fate? Written by Marc Roussel on IMDB.com

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for shorts, so it probably doesn't surprise anyone when I tell them that I jumped at the chance to review Remote for Marc Roussel. I had read a previous review done my my good friend The Mike over at From Midnight, With Love, and fell in love with the concept. Actually, more pissed at Marc for coming up with the idea before I could! I'm only kidding... but really... pissed. Either way the film is brilliant, and I was happy to have the chance to see it.

The story itself is a very familiar concept, but never really done so much in this fashion. It kind of reminded me of that shitty film, The Lake House, with Keanu, only this film was good. It starts off with very believable characters doing very normal things. When Matt(Ron Basch) discovers his T.V. is having a bit of a fit, it is all played off very realistic. That's when he meets Justine (Sarah Silverthorne), who just happens to be living in his apartment 30 years ago to this day. Upon a little getting to know you session, Matt decides to look up Justine in the present day and found out what she is doing. That's when he says that she was murdered on that very day, in that very apartment. Before he has time to warn her, he spots the killer(Peter Racanelli) in the apartment with her. I know what you are thinking, that those are some crazy twists, but the film doesn't stop there, and I'm not going to continue for the fear of ruining it.

The cast and crew did an amazing job on this film. Despite being a short I really felt the film hand some potential to be stretched out to a longer film, maybe even a feature length film, but maybe that is me. I wanted more. It was clear to me that Marc Roussel knew exactly what he was doing behind the camera, and that he had extensive experience in the editing department, giving his editor a direction to go. The film was smooth, and well paced, with above par acting. I highly recommend it to everyone, and I look forward to seeing some more great films from Marc in the future.

Entertainment Value: 8/10 Polaroid Pictures
Cinematic Value: 8/10 Polaroid Pictures