Nightmare_Code

Director - Mark Netter
Starring - Andrew J. West (The Walking Dead, Justified), Mei Melancon (Deadwood, Pathology), and Googy Gress (NCIS, Charmed)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Sci-Fi/Thriller
Tagline - "It finds the bug in you"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Horror and sci-fi has always been able to mix together to create some very unique films.  Sci-fi has always been able to open doors that typical horror films can not.  Hell, sci-fi mixing with horror can be traced all the way back to the beginning of the genre with mad scientists (Frankenstein), killer aliens, mutant bugs and humanoids, and so many more.  The melting of the two is still strong with modern technology now being the inspiration for the two to collide.  Recently, I was sent a link to the online screener for the upcoming sci-fi horror thriller Nightmare_Code.  This was a film that I knew very little about but it looked very promising.  Thank you for allowing me to see this one!

     The film follows a man who has fallen on hard times with the possibility of jail time.  He takes a job as a programmer after the last guy went crazy and shot up the office.  This takes him away from his family but he needs the money to pay for lawyers.  He is working on a project that could possibly help police find crime before it happens.  However, there is something wrong with the program itself.  Those that get too deep into the program see something eternal and kill themselves to live forever among the code.
     Technology based sci-fi horror flicks can be tricky.  If you are not careful you can date you movie which will make it almost obsolete in the coming years.  Films like the horrible Smiley and the fun Brain Scan decided to use the technology of the time to be the basis for the film which locks the film to that time period.  Younger generations may happen across the film years down the road and it will seem almost cheesy.  Nightmare_Code is a film that refused to date itself and went another route picking hypothetical technology that would be beneficial but is impossible to make.  This prevents the film from becoming a thing of it's time like incorporating cam girls, Twitter, and cellphones into the film's story.  The acting in this one is actually pretty well done.  No one goes above or beyond but everyone does deliver a solid performance.  That brings me to Andrew J. West.  Most of you may remember West from The Walking Dead where he played Gareth who was the leader of the cannibals.  In TWD, West was very intense and made several scenes he was in unforgettable but he did not bring that same intensity to Nightmare_Code which is a bit of a shame.  He has so much potential and did not bring any of it to NC.  The story for this one is clever but does have several plot holes like the character finding footage of the man actually killing his co-workers.  The police would have confiscated that footage for sure but is a huge piece of the story.  It is able to melt a traditional sci-fi story into a horror thriller but uses plot points that have been used in other sci-fi/horror mash ups.  With that being said, the film relies heavily on characters and their development.   This was great for the most part but some of the characters have no depth and are just filler to move the film along.  This made a solid story feel cheap in certain aspects.  Finally, the film only has a few on screen kills but they are very enjoyable with a few mixing practical and visual effects.  The combination looks good but will be dated over time.  The kills themselves are nothing new nor are they that brutal but they are still fun.  Overall, Nightmare_Code is a fun sci-fi thriller that shows that not all technology is good technology.  If you are looking for something a little different then you should really check this one out.