The Movie Sleuth can't say enough positive things about Oceanus, the first film from Future Dude Entertainment.
 |
| "Hey. Check out these visuals!" |
Future Dude Entertainment founder and writer-director
Jeffrey Morris’ Oceanus: Act One is
among the most colorful, technically proficient science fiction short films to
be produced and released entirely independently in almost a decade! The launching pad for what will hopefully
becoming a prosperous company devoted to science fiction films in the vein of
Robert Wise and Gene Roddenberry, Oceanus
is being released as an online serial with continuing episodes alongside a slew
of like-minded projects including Parallel
Man, Venus and Brainstorm (no relation to Douglas
Trumbull’s film).
Somewhere along the
lines of The Abyss and SeaQuest DSV with the slick neon
lighting of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus,
Oceanus stakes its claim in the
underwater science fiction film universe with confidence and prowess,
announcing both itself and the company behind it as a potentially major force
to be reckoned with. From the sophisticated set pieces,
costume design and overwhelming amount of visually exciting CGI effects, the
level of technical quality for an entirely independent production is simply
staggering. It should not appear this
startlingly good but as I watched the thirty minute short, I continued to be
surprised and engaged by what Oceanus had
to offer!
For what is essentially a demo reel marking the
arrival of a new voice in sci-fi entertainment, this is light years ahead of
anything playing on the SyFy channel let alone many of the other independent
ventures with greater resources but only a fraction of Future Dude’s
inspiration. You can really feel the
heart and soul imbued in this labor of love when you’re not in awe of how far
the visuals stretch the budgetary limitations.
In other words, it looks beautiful but isn’t just a soulless technical
exercise. While only thirty minutes
long, I was immediately enthralled by the tranquil oceanic underworld and
caught up in the characters’ plight and was only disappointed when it
inevitably had to end with the ‘to be continued’ tagline.
 |
| "Eat your heart out, every other science fiction movie of 2015. We're the best!" |
Acting is pretty strong between the three
cast members who manage to inject emotional depth into their roles and aren’t
hampered by the surrounding technology.
Sonically the score is tranquil ambience not unlike Brian Eno floating
in space and the sound design is polished and slick. Everything works together to create a clean
but colorful kaleidoscope of ocean blue, orange and purple sunset and sleek
lens flares akin to J.J. Abrams’ use of the technique in Star Trek.
I realize I’m gushing but I was genuinely impressed
with the first installment of Oceanus
and cannot wait to see what comes next!
Future Dude Entertainment and its founding father have managed to make
one hell of a mark from scratch and with one short established themselves as an
exciting new voice in science fiction filmmaking. Where most science fiction thrillers depend
on explosions and loud sound effects to achieve their effect, Oceanus is a breath of fresh air for not
only being vast in scope but also a throwback to early '70s thought provoking
science fiction far more interested in ideas.
Although Future Dude is still in its infancy at this juncture, the word
of mouth regarding Oceanus is
spreading fast in the company’s favor and more and more eyes can’t help but be
wowed by just how much they’ve done with so little. Let’s just hope the forthcoming installments
of Oceanus live up to the promise of
the first one and that further down the line, Future Dude Entertainment becomes
a household name in the film industry!
Score
-Andrew Kotwicki
Like this review? Please share.
