Things Will Be Different review
Things don’t go to plan when siblings try to hide out in a special safehouse that transports them to a different time.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Things Will Be Different
Directed by Michael Felker
Written by Michael Felker
Starring Adam David Thompson, Riley Dandy, Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, Sarah Bolger and Jori Felker
Thing Will Be Different Review
I’m a sucker for movies about time. Time travel…time loops…whatever you got. Despite being well worn concepts, the genre keeps pumping out exciting new installments. The most exciting come in the form of stories that find a new angle to take on it. Things Will Be Different is one such story. It walks the line between mind-bending concepts and fun with the format with ease…grounding every new idea in a story centered around the emotional relationship between its lead characters.
Estranged siblings Joe (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy) need to lay low following a heist. Joe has an unconventional solution…a safe house that will transport them to a different time while they wait for things to die down. Two weeks spent trying to reconnect ought to cover it. There’s just one problem. After two weeks pass…they find their way home closed off. A mysterious voice from another time won’t let them through until they do something for them. Kill another traveler who will soon arrive at the house.
It’s interesting that horror movies have always been the go-to genre for independent filmmakers. It makes sense, of course. Horror has a large built-in audience accustomed to films made on a budget. It’s easier to sell. Frankly, quality of acting isn’t a huge priority either. People just enjoy seeing new voices playing in the horror space. Shouldn’t Sci-fi have a similar reputation? Things Will Be Different makes a strong case for it. Ideas are free, after all. No genre benefits from executing ideas that excite and expand the mind of a viewer like science fiction does.
It’s the rarity of great ideas that keep science fiction from exploding the low-budget market the way that horror has. When you come across a movie that has one (Cube, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, River, Monolith) hold onto it for dear life. Things Will Be Different has a great idea. More than one, in fact. Its best idea isn’t its farmhouse out of time setting or its ingenious way of communicating through time. The best idea is anchoring all the time travel fun (and danger) to three-dimensional characters with relatable goals. Preferably aided by strong performances. All the brilliant sci-fi concepts in the world won’t mean anything if you don’t care about who they’re happening to. There is a reason Eric Stoltz isn’t in Back to the Future.
Joe is haunted by his past falling out with his sister. Sidney just wants to get home to her daughter. Simple, relatable, strong character motivations. The first 13 days of their stay in this magical safe house are the good times. They’re shown in a delightful montage of drinking, killing time, and reconnecting. When day 14 doesn’t go as planned…things quickly fall apart. Things Will Be Different presents the characters with an interesting task. It’s given to them through fascinating time logic involving a tape recorder and a safe. But nothing ever overshadows the movie’s greatest strength. The chemistry between its lead actors in well-written roles.
Thompson and Dandy are terrific. Most of the story unfolds with nothing but them on screen. They’re assisted by great science fiction ideas. Ideas that provide a lot of intrigue and, ultimately, action. These ideas benefit the story by remaining in supporting roles. No matter how clever (or, at times, confusing) Things Will Be Different gets…the concepts are used as obstacles or answers for the siblings to deal with instead of overtaking the strong character stories playing out in front of them. There’s a strong drama at play here. The science fiction is an exciting bonus.
Eventually, another traveler will arrive at the not-so-safe house. Action picks up, sci-fi elements become more prominent…and the work put into the characters through two acts leave us completely invested in what happens next. There are the expected twists and turns that the genre demands. There are even answers for those that want them. You’ll be forgiven for being more interested in what becomes of Joe and Sidney than the why or how of it all. That’s the design of Things Will Be Different at work.
For what it’s worth, the movie completely sticks the landing. After some sci-fi hijinks the story finds a perfect narrative resolution for its characters. It ends with a bang. An emotionally charged, completely earned ending to a story that understands what we care about most.
Things Will Be Different also understands what sci-fi fans want from a story. High concept ideas fill the first act of the movie. A creeping dread of impending disaster highlights the second. The third act unleashes the fun. It has everything that you want…elevated by two excellent performances that carry a strong familial drama through every twist and turn.
Scare Value
Things Will Be Different is a well-made science fiction film. It has all the trappings we want…with a high-level commitment to character and story. It proves that this genre lives and dies on its ideas…not its budget. Third act thrills give way to the emotional finale that Joe and Sidney deserve. The leads are excellent. It’s a great looking picture. Things Will Be Different is a movie you’ll want to get lost in time with.
4/5
Thing Will Be Different Links
Get on VOD from Fandango at Home and Amazon
