Kultur Shock! (2017)

What would you do if you woke up somewhere and didn’t know how you got there? In February 2017, a man named Blue woke up that way, and he wasn’t the only one…

Kultur Shock! is a mystery/sci-fi/thriller that was directed by Todd Osleger. It has an eighty-five-minute runtime and is rated UR (unrated) but has language. Here’s what the story is about.

Three American immigrants, who are called Red, White and Blue, wake up in a windowless room and can’t remember who they are or how they got there. If that wasn’t strange enough, they’re being tormented by a talking Uncle Sam doll. Slowly, the three immigrants try to figure out where they are… and what’s making that horrid sound outside their door.

I gotta say, I liked the story that Eric Paul Chapman came up with. Chapman’s writing style reminds me of M. Night Shyamalan, with the way he weaves a story filled with hints to tell you what’s going on and then throws that curveball at you in the end. The story has so many moments that keep you guessing on what’s really going on. Along with some comical spots to lighten things up, in a weird way.

I thought the playthrough was interesting and the way everything starts out not only grabbed my attention but held it. Unfortunately, one of the problems I had with the flick it was with the sound. Throughout the film, there are scenes where the dialogue was hard to hear like the microphone wasn’t near the cast, which made me have to break from the film to turn up the sound and rewind it to catch what was said. Another sound issue I had was with the Uncle Sam doll. Between his accent and the radio crackle, I had trouble making out what he was saying. Now, the sound issue isn’t constant. Most of the time you can hear what’s going on between the cast very clearly, which is what made it weird. I could hear two people whispering across the room but in the next scene, I couldn’t hear two people talking at a normal level right in front of the camera.

Some of the cast is Maureen O’Malley (Monongahela), Terry McNavage (Kultur Shock!), Eric Paul Chapman (Craig Quits His Day Job), David Hundertmark (Kultur Shock!) and Jerry Pietrala (A Wish for Giants).

The special effects (by Kevin Kukler) and visual effects (by Lee Copeland) looked good for a small budget flick. The CGI wasn’t the best I’ve seen, but it was clean looking and moved smoothly. Something else that caught my attention was the look of the Uncle Sam doll that Michael Williams came up with. It had this mixed look of creepy but antique cool to it that I really dug.

Now, the entire movie takes place in a single set, which impressed me. I’m usually not a fan of single set films. Mainly because you have to have a really good story and/or cast to make it work. Without set changes to keep things fresh, it’s easy for a film to get stale and lose my attention. I never felt like things got stale in this one. Instead, the set actually adds to the film by pushing the audience to focus more on the cast and scenes.

Summary : I didn't know what to think of this one at first, but it turned out to be pretty good. If you've got the time and like to watch a mystery unfold, give this one a go.

It's rated UR but has language.


Rating


Average

3