‘It will pull you in’
Sequence Break is a 2017 American romantic science fiction horror film written and directed by Graham Skipper (director of Space Clown; actor in The Mind’s Eye; Almost Human; et al).
The movie stars Chase Williamson, Audrey Wasilewski and Fabianne Therese.
Van Hughes (Space Clown) composed the synth score.
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
A loner video arcade technician experiences bizarre biomechanical mutations and Cronenbergian hallucinations when a mysterious new arcade game appears in his shop. Reality itself threatens to fracture as he works to solve its mystery and the new chaos that has entered his life…
Reviews:
“Sequence Break makes for a solid directorial debut, though its undersized scope won’t give “Tron,” or “Bishop of Battle” for that matter, any sleepless nights regarding who is at the top of the heap for sentient video game thrillers. The scrappy film fights hard with more heart and more polish than many micro-budget movies. Yet it also shows the seams of its limited resources by asking audience imaginations to meet the onscreen effort halfway.” Culture Crypt
“I love that Graham Skipper has captured the boldness and the strangeness of old Cronenberg films and some of the formalism of Argento, but combines both with a genuine human story about potential and the path not taken. There’s an easier version of this film that’s inscrutable for the sake of being inscrutable, but Skipper uses the clothes of a challenging mindf*ck as a way of dressing a much warmer film that genuinely cares about its characters. Few films are able to successfully have it both ways. This one does.” Daily Dead
” …Sequence Break ultimately lacks impact beyond the marvellously gooey practical effects (one particular face-melting shot is the stuff of instant legend). So whilst the overt homage to Cronenberg’s Videodrome is certainly appreciated, it would be a struggle to justify why you shouldn’t just go and enjoy that far superior film instead.” Dread Central
” …it remains a very shut-in effort as all the cosmic voyages are taken inside a big warehouse (the Cronenberg of The Fly must be another model) and doesn’t take the easy Tron route of sucking the characters into a game which has an easily identifiable set of goals. It’s a bit like playing a game with no accompanying rules or understanding of how to win or lose – which is actually a solid metaphor for life, but slightly unsatisfying in a philosophical science fiction picture.” The Kim Newman Web Site
“Jizzing into a computer game, which then starts growing organic matter before sucking a woman into an oily hell on the other side of the screen, was certainly a FrightFest first; but beyond the icky sticky technology shagging sequences […] These scenes may be gross and cool, but the rest of the film is a total slog full of dialogue scenes that mean nothing and go nowhere…” Live for Films
“Visually Sequence Break looks amazing, from the ominous Tron-like way Skipper portrays the arcade games Oz lives with and repairs – especially the killer cab that he obsesses over – to the gooey, overtly sexual nature of the, lets just say, “malleable” arcade controls and the amazing bio-mechanical way in which man and machine combine, to THAT Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque effect sequence…” Nerdly
Cast and characters:
- Chase Williamson … Oz – Fetish Factory; SiREN; John Dies at the End; et al
- Audrey Wasilewski … Audrey – Bunnicula; Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
- Fabianne Therese … Tess – Southbound; Starry Eyes; John Dies at the End
- Lyle Kanouse … Jerry
- John Dinan … The Man
