INFINITY CHAMBER Movie Review - Photo credit: namba, edition y Amber255 via bitLanders

The Infinity Chamber synopsis attracted attention and tuned in to something at least interesting. The first association in memory came up Moon, a tape that left a very good impression as a solid, sometimes dramatic science fiction film. The director of Infinity Chamber Travis Milloy, by the way, is the scriptwriter of another memorable representative of the genre - Pandorum.

This is a film about the future where computer technologies were connected to create new types of prisons. Until then, other directors did not think of creating such a turn in the plot. Basically, there were new generation prisons, where the security system was at a high level, but everything was much steeper there. Here the artificial intellect tries to penetrate the convict’s head in order to punish him. And again we see the game in a confined space.

The creators tried to show the game of one actor Christopher Soren Kelly. Watch a film to get to know how they succeeded. Despite such different reviews, I also decided to independently determine whether the movie was worth the time spent or not. Well, who of us does not like fiction?

INFINITY CHAMBER Trailer - Video credit: youtube

The Plot

The near future, an alternate universe, a world where everything is reduced to automation. The totalitarian government, to suppress the will of the people and to keep them under constant surveillance, places cameras on every corner and appoints guards who must keep order.

With these actions, they managed to create a system that never failed. People carried out all orders, obeyed the government, not trying to oppose.

To ensure maximum efficiency, justice is built in such a way that any person suspected of committing a crime, even if its guilt is not proven, is subjected to special symbols on the body, after which it is distributed into prison cells. The cameras are controlled by special robots with a high level of artificial intelligence. They create conditions under which a person experiences the same emotions every day.

INFINITY CHAMBER Movie Review - Photo credit: imdb.

In the center of the story is Frank, a man who finds himself in one of these prisons. Long isolation leads him to begin planning an escape. But how to trick the robot with impeccable rational thinking?

The Main Hero

A person wakes up from sleep, finding himself in an isolated room, very much like a detention cell. The only source of information and the overseer for him is an autonomous program that communicates with him through video and audio surveillance. Visually this is the usual camera eye.

While the hero is trying to understand the reasons for his imprisonment, periodically his brief memories, as well as cyclically repetitive dreams, which very much resemble a time loop, pop up.

 

INFINITY CHAMBER Movie Review - Photo credit: elindefilocinesnable.blogspot

Our prisoner is trying in every way to find a common language and pull out at least some information from his programmed jailer, whose answer usually sounds: "I do not have access to such information."

Some scraps of news reports from rare flashbacks indirectly hint at some not very distant future that is mired in social conflicts. But to somehow plunge into the atmosphere of this future, there is a catastrophic lack of conciseness.

Frank cannot be longer in such a place, does not communicate with people, and it is impossible to outwit the robots. It is necessary to show remarkable abilities to be in the familiar external world and forget everything that happened to him. He does not realize only that during his absence, the world around has changed beyond recognition.

bitLanders AI-themed blogging: INFINITY CHAMBER - Photo credit: fusionmovies

The hero expects that the human brain has diverse properties, and therefore, is endowed with the ability to evolve when adverse situations occur. Let its properties are not fully understood, but it is necessary to constantly train it in order not to lose potential. Self-development is helped by obtaining new information, otherwise, the process of starting irreversible degradation will occur. But can the human brain outwit the capabilities of a modern computer system? 

The latter has reached unprecedented heights; in some areas, artificial intelligence has supplanted people, especially in those industries, where it is necessary to perform monotonous operations.

The hero has the necessary knowledge in the field of electronics and programming, but even he is not sure about the favorable outcome of the release operation.

Frank's cyclical memories, suggests the cyclical nature of his life in freedom. It seems that this bleak existence that caused the mistake for which he was imprisoned pushed him to fight the system.

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I didn’t recognize the leading actor at once, but he seemed very familiar to me, and glancing at his filmography, to my surprise, I discovered that he had played one of the main roles in the chic independent film Ink. Here you have an excellent example of how the creative approach, the reasonableness of the plot, and the flight of fancy completely covers the lack of funds. It seems to me that it was precisely the lack of funding that forced the creators for all that creativity that, in my opinion, can claim to be genius. Ink is undoubtedly a film with a soul.

The Infinity Chamber in this respect does not stand out. The narrative thread is not clear, the concept is weak, the implementation is no better, and the emphasis on psychological and atmospheric is not visible. Although it seems to be not quick work, the director's claim to seriousness is visible, and the idea is not bad, but that seemed to be a little.

The actor Christopher Soren Kelly, by the way, played quite well. But, in my opinion, Christopher does not have a sufficient degree of internal madness to embody a person in complete despair, stuck in virtual reality, to embody an emotional breakdown and a fierce thirst to understand and survive.

bitLanders AI-themed blogging: INFINITY CHAMBER - Photo credit: kinoradiomagia

Robot-Computer

The computer has all the characteristics of an ordinary person: voice, manners, some kind of individuality, but it’s still obvious that the robot is talking, especially when it is indicated in the description of the film. But the main hero was trying to figure out who he was talking with for half an hour. 

Although the idea is interesting, the performance is lame. In my opinion, to observe one character and his conversations with a computer, performing the role of supervisor, is quite a boring task.

I liked Frank's speech about the machines and mechanisms for which we practically pray; we consider how much they can. And how much cannot? The most up-to-date computer is inferior to man because the soul cannot be shoved into the framework of logic. Or not the soul but the subtle chemical processes of the brain. 

Science Fiction film INFINITY CHAMBER - Photo credit: imdb

There are already similar films of this kind; I can recall as an example of the Cube. There too people were in an unusual prison, but in Infinity Chamber, there was added more artificial intelligence. The hero will have to communicate with artificial intelligence and have to find some weak spot in this system.

Watch how the main character succeeds in defeating the super mega brain.

As artificial intelligence was created by man, so he is the creator. And if so, the creator can deceive his creation, no matter how clever it is, because we know how it works -  you can put pressure on the weak link, and everything will collapse.

Psychological thriller INFINITY CHAMBER - Photo credit: planetdp

The Idea

I must say, the idea itself is not new. It's the confrontation of a large corporation that has bequeathed everything and everyone in the world of the future and its opponents. Each person is assigned a personal identifier by which the system tracks all his actions. This theme in the film touched casually.

The only serious thought in the film is about euthanasia, as the best choice for people whose lives can no longer be the same, and a cure for the disease is impossible. But to this question, I think, every person in his heart already has an answer. And this film does not reveal anything to us.

I tried to understand the position of Frank in this captivity. Something here was such that it prompted the creation of a picture. But for me, it remains a mystery.

The film about robot INFINITY CHAMBER - Photo credit: imdb

A person and his attitude toward life become strange when he is left alone. So we, if we remain without the Internet and communication. The author is trying to convey the same thing. The eternal questions facing humanity for thousands of years. How real is our world, and are we responsible for those we have invented? And aren't we made up by someone else? And is it worth taking fiction for reality, if everything was lost except fiction?

I understand, if a man tried somehow to outwit the computer that is holding him, or made at least some attempt to get out of the basement, but here we do not see it. Or rather, he did it so sadly and cheaply, which does not cause interest. The director could not intrigue me for a second.

The director made an attempt to convey the emotions and fears of the protagonist. There are a lot of memories. Such can overtake anyone who is locked up. This is the whole point.

The mysterious twists and turns of the human brain, unknown and mysterious - this theme has always attracted me. But everything is not simple here. The author throws hint after hint, and the viewer should solve every minute the puzzle of someone else's idea.

Absolutely mental film. Amazing how critics don't see the simple beauty of this film. stellar performance from the main actor and the supporting roles. Lovely plot mechanisms, and plot direction. Could easily be a cult classic if more people saw it. 

Credit: metacritic

But the idea of the author is not only in the desire to show a virtual trap, a kind of duel of man and machine, but to show self-expression through self-awareness.

Overall Impression 

Psychological thriller INFINITY CHAMBER - Photo credit: filmous

At first, it seemed to me that the film was a complete copy of Cube. But when you look closer, you see the difference. In this film is the story of the life of one person and his monologue with himself, which he throws out on a soulless machine. Together with his present, the film shows flashbacks that explain his life and the appearance in the room of infinity.

The film is low-budget, and it is striking, but at the same time, I liked how the plotline was built. Psychologically, emotionally, gradually revealing many secrets and secrets of the past life of the protagonist.

And still, the film as a whole makes a vague impression. Personally, I expected, so to say, an intellectual and psychological duel between man and machine, to my great regret, it has almost no place there. Everything is impossible simply' the dialogues are not very meaningful. The logic sometimes walks somewhere aside.

I was puzzled by the moment when the program offers the hero to damage it.

INFINITY CHAMBER, Exclusive Outer Places Clip - Video credit: youtube

And the camera of the imprisoning itself, which is essentially the main location of the film, also disappointed.
Its mere show upsets with the first frames. Not a hint of high-tech, unless of course, it is considered the automatically opening doors and food with drinks from a vending machine. 

The conspicuous low budget is not the main drawback of the film. The main drawback is the lack of fantasy because, in such films, this is perhaps the main key to success. 

Frank : My father died of heart disease. When he got sick they put him on this machine. Kept him alive four years. Four years longer than he was supposed to live. You think that's a gift? The man had made his peace, he was ready to go. A machine took that away from him. It trapped him in a life that wasn't even living.

Credit: imdb

On A Final Note

The Infinity Chamber does not stand out: the narrative thread is not clear, the concept is weak, the implementation is no better, and the emphasis on psychological and atmospheric is not visible. Although it seems to be not quick work, the director's claim to seriousness is visible, and the idea is not bad, but that seemed to be a little.

It's the film which revealed the theme of virtual reality in an interesting and new way. Yes, it's too complex for popcorn. The film is not for everyone. The film is complex and multifaceted; everyone will see and understand something different. The film raises questions but practically does not give an answer to them.

Man versus machine: INFINITY CHAMBER  - Photo credit: imdb

My rating: 6.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: -/100
Metacritic: -/100
Critics average: 66/100
IMDb: 6.2/10

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