(For Day 11 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write something based on some overheard dialogue. For lack of time and inspiration, I went with a quick summation of a recent movie’s paranoia instead.)

They’re watching me now as they whisper
And guess what I’m bound to do next.
Am I coming or going?
I’m sick of not knowing,
Just one among countless subjects.

They’re prodding and setting my limits.
I only have so far to go,
A rat stuck complying
And gradually dying.
The maze is my new status quo.
______________________________

MPA rating: Not Rated (I guess R for some F words, nothing else objectionable)

You know how sometimes you try a random, obscure movie just because the name catches your interest and you stumble upon something great you never expected to find? That’s happened to me before, but not this time. Infinitum: Unknown Subject is an example of what happens when science fiction has its head too far up its butt to deliver an actual story.

Shot on an iPhone during the pandemic with mostly a single actress (Tori Butler-Hart), the film starts promisingly as the bewildered Jane awakens tied to a chair in a sealed attic, being watched by cameras. She escapes and explores the house and the deserted streets outside, but periodically resets, returning to her tied-up starting position while also getting glimpses of a war-torn landscape and echoes of her own past or future.

It reminded me somewhat of “White Bear,” one of the best episodes of Black Mirror, yet the plot for the film doesn’t ultimately go anywhere. There are interview snippets of scientists (including a barely-there Ian McKellen) talking about experiments and the “paraverse,” but there’s never any clarity on what is actually happening to Jane or why. With the repetitious loops and lack of other character interactions, Jane’s journey makes for a painfully dull 86 minutes. I feel I shouldn’t dunk on Infinitum too hard since they were experimenting with how to make a movie during a pandemic, but this failure is an example of what not to do.

Rank: Dishonorable Mention

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