When Alex’s girlfriend, Sarah (Emma Elle Paterson), unexpectedly dies during a camping trip, he tries to move on with his life, but when he and his best friend (who’s also Sarah’s brother) uncover a family secret, they believe they can bring her back from the dead.
Eric Dubois showcases enough skills in his feature directorial debut to keep this sci-fi horror chillingly grounded. Infinite Light doesn’t spend time raising ethical questions around bringing dead people back from the grave, but rather goes on finding a way to actually make it happen. The side story about Alex’s best friend John’s family, and his research into this phenomenon, isn’t as exciting as Dubois might want it to be but it acts as some solid filler to keep the story flowing steadily.
There’s a lot of emotional lifting to do, as these characters are all dealing with grief, but Nikola Masri seems a bit too unexperienced to play the lead and fully bring across these emotions to grab you by the throat. He’s definitely talented, and so is the rest of the cast, so I’m excited to see him grow as an actor.
The movie is at its strongest when it doesn’t solely focus on Alex, and puts him in the room with somebody else. I personally found the relationship with his sister (played by Hana Kashaf) a very interesting plot point of which I would’ve loved to have explored a bit more. The supernatural bits seem somewhat inspired by EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), but with a twist. Dubois cleverly uses this medium to give the story an edge that puts characters against each other and implements a sense of urgency.
Infinite Light has some genuine emotionally raw scenes and the plot goes well, although it definitely has some major speedbumps to overcome in the second half. A low-key original little supernatural flick that’s worthy of a genre-fan’s attention.
SciFilm Film Festival presents the Australian premiere of INFINITE LIGHT. More information and tickets can be found HERE
Reviewed October 14, 2021 (screener provided by publicist). Rating: TBC. Running time: 67 min.
PRODUCTION: A Dubois Films production. Producer: Eric Dubois.
CREW: Director/writer/editing/cinematography: Eric Dubois. Music: Evan MacDonald.
CAST: Nikola Masri, Gabe Meacher, Emma Elle Paterson, Hana Kashaf, Dakota Jamal Wellman, Lesley Pahl.