Science fiction and horror are so tangled up in each other that there is an entire subgenre known as sci-fi horror. When making a list of the scariest science fiction movies, films likeAlien,Event Horizon, andNopespring to mind. What these movies understood was, thatbeyond how frightening any given technological advancement might be, the human element will always land with most an audience.Michael Felkerclearly kept this fundamental truth in mind when writing and directing his debut, 2024’sThings Will Be Different. A visually stunning horror film with a good old-fashioned sci-fi plot,Things Will Be Differentterrorizes its audience most effectively when pulling on their heartstrings.
How ‘Things Will Be Different’ Blends Science Fiction, Horror, and Drama
In the wake of a bank robbery gone sideways, estranged siblings Joseph (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy) lay out an unusual escape and evasion plan. With the police hot on his heels, Joseph leads Sidney to an isolated farmhouse with a closet that acts as a portal into parallel timelines.All that they have to do is follow the directions in a handily placed notebook and boom!The siblings are safein a new timeline, totally scot-free.Unfortunately for them, when they try to return, problems bigger than arrest and detainment arise. The setup forThings Will Be Differentis pure science fiction. Cause a problem in your universe? Hop over into a neighboring one until the drama cools down! This easy fix is quickly revealed to be a Pandora’s box of nightmare fuel, seamlesslysegueing the film into horror.
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From the onset ofThings Will Be Different, there is an undercurrent of emotional drama.This family intrigue stitches the whole film together and aids in the switch fromsci-fi-heavy to horror-heavy.Joseph and Sidney have a strained at best relationship, an unexpected twist for two siblings evading the police together. Thompson and Dandy play strained siblings so well, their performances restrained from the schism, but still dripping in love. The longer the duo is stuck in the alternate universe, the more determined Joseph is to mend their fractured bond. Meanwhile, Sidney is desperate to return to her daughter. This poignant core ofThings Will Be Differentis not just a tear-jerker for tear-jerker’s sake, it is essential to the more genre-specific plot points of the film. Sidney’s drive to get back to her daughter is the vehicle through which many of the rules of this time/space travel are explained to the characters and the audience. These rules introduce the horror. One of these rules cautions against straying too far, with a boundary drawn in blood serving as a nasty warning. As things ramp up in the horror department, the audience feels every gut punch, worrying about the siblings' safety, as if Joseph and Sidney were their own blood relations. Felker’s directorial vision and writing laces all these genres and tropes together for a breath of fresh air.
The Beauty of ‘Things Will Be Different’
Things Will Be Differentis a slow-burning, at times psychological, horror. As Joseph and Sidney find themselves trapped in an alternate universe, the film attempts to simulate the isolation and snail-speed movement of time for the viewer. Long, lingering shots of the desolate and cold farmhouse and the remote surroundings are haunting. These visuals are not just to convey howeerie this isolation is, but toremind the viewer that though the siblings are stuck standing still, the world is not.Time is still passing.Inside the farmhouse is dusty and still, like a step backward in time instead of forwards with dial-up phones, VCRs, and grandfather clocks. It’s claustrophobic, emphasizing the rapidly increasing tension as more time passes. The cinematography helps subtly convey a hair-raising tone, preventing any dialogue being wasted onhow “suffocating” it is to be trappedin a parallel universe with one’s estranged sibling.
Despite the emphasis on isolation at the farmhouse, the siblings are not actually alone. Boxed into this parallel universe by unfriendly hosts, they are given a task to complete before they can leave. Joseph and Sidney love each other, but their years apart are now raising red flags.The viewerhas to question both siblings,with Sidney’s frantic drive to get home to her daughter at any cost and Joseph’s suspicious origins that led him to the farmhouse in the first place. A constantly unfolding puzzle,Things Will Be Differentis the kind of movie viewers won’t just need to rewatch to absorb everything, but willwantto rewatch!
A bold and impressive directorial debut,Things Will Be Differentpromises big things in Felker’s future.To compose both an intimate portrait of two siblings and a massive, genre-bending plot with twists at every turn takes guts.Things Will Be Differenthas something for everyone; some bone-chilling horror, mind-bending psychological twists, high-concept time travel, and heart-wrenching family drama. GiveThings Will Be Differentsome much-deserved love, ASAP, and keep an eye on Felker!
Things Will Be Different
