Bullet Points: Infini

You may be asking yourself “What exactly is an Infini, and why should I care?” Well, those are both good questions and the answers are very simple. Infini is an Australian Sci-Fi film that hearkens back to films such as The Thing, The Crazies, and Aliens. You won’t be floored by the originality of Infini, but the execution of the characters and the situation that they find themselves in is what makes it so entertaining to watch. It’s a movie that feels more real than it sounds. You’ll get it, just keep reading…

Synopsis: An elite ‘search and rescue’ team are transported to an off-world mining facility to find a surviving member of a team that was sent there during a biological attack. The team soon finds that the outbreak is more than they thought it was.

• Is this the book or the movie: My first gripe with the film was that it had far too much text at the beginning. I always felt the same way about Star Wars and I was obviously right because everybody hates that movie! But, the text is overly long and I’ve found that if you need to describe that much stuff before the first frame of the film then you need to re-think what you’re doing.

• Just “Joe” being “Joe”: As a former soldier myself, a complaint that I have had in 94% of movies involving the military is that writers just don’t understand how soldiers interact with one another. I’m happy to say that Infini is among the 6% that does it right! The dialogue felt like it was real and unforced. It wasn’t trying to make characters into stereotypes or give them stupid quirks just to set them apart. If you want to see how to introduce a squad or platoon sized element of soldiers then just watch Aliens.
• Where is Sam Neil: Parts of this movie felt like the 1997 film Event Horizon to me. That is maybe the biggest compliment that I could have given this movie. So far, I have already likened this film to five different movies. I think I can fit one more in.

• What is Happening: Okay, so I’ve talked a lot about what Infini reminded me of but I haven’t really said much about the film. Part of that is because I don’t want to give away too much about the story. The synopsis above should be enough to get you in the door but if you need more check this out; the costumes are really good, the sets look great, and the performances were surprisingly good. Plus, I really like to say the term “primordial ooze”.
• The Organ Trade: While searching through the facility they find the kitchen. Normally that would be a good place to find a box of cereal or some beef jerky to snack on but instead they find a bunch of human organs. Far less appetizing and not the thing to want to see when you’re on a search and rescue operation in a spooky-ass place.
• The first rule of Infini: My sixth and final comparison has to do with the action and it’s not what you think it is. You probably thought I was going to say it reminded me of Fight Club but that would just be silly. A couple of the fight scenes actually reminded me of the John Carpenter-helmed They Live. One scene in particular was brutal as hell and I think that the late great Roddy Piper would have smiled and nodded upon seeing it.
• If I could change one thing: I really enjoyed Infini! It was an entertaining sci-fi movie with good performances and dialogue that didn’t make me roll my eyes. If I could change one thing about the movie it would have been the final 10 minutes or so. It’s not terrible and it certainly doesn’t ruin the movie but it feels forced. It reminds me of when studios get in the way of a director’s vision. Is that what happened here? You’ll have to ask director Shane Abbess.

You won’t need to travel through time and space to get more Bullet Points.

• Some of the cast never left the set once filming began in order to keep their connection to the story.
• Filming was done during the Summertime and the spacesuits could reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit. For those of you not familiar with that unit of measurement, it is hot as hell!
• Lead actor Daniel MacPherson was hosting the Aussie version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ before the shoot began.