Reminiscence: The Beginning

Director - Akcay Karaazmak (The Dark Inside Me)
Starring - Ozlem Begtas, Fatih Guler, and Sefika Karasslan
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Thriller
Tagline - "What if time breaks down?"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Over the years I have become friends with several people at various distribution companies.  A few years back I came in contact with the public relations manager at MVD.  Since then he has sent me several press releases and review copies.  Sometimes I know I am getting them in advance and then sometimes I get some as a complete surprise.  Not long ago MVD sent me a several films to review that I had no idea I was getting.  One of those films was Reminiscence: The Beginning which was a thriller from Turkey director Akcay Karaazmak and played with the theory of black holes.  I was not too excited to see this one.  Thrillers are not my thing but I review everything sent to me with an open mind but bad is bad regardless what genre or sub-genre is.

     The film follows a young couple who just happen to be physicists.  On a break of a huge scientific discovery, they visit the beach to camp and work.  They learn that time is a barrier between parallel worlds and without time these creatures called Others can break through and terrorize this plane of existence.  While working on this theory they come face to face with the others and their lives are put on the line in the name of science.


     Thrillers try too hard.  Some of the best thrillers hinged on a strong twist and a very layered story that leaves the viewer thinking.  Sadly, low budget thrillers lack the funds needed to deliver the writing and the detailed story.  Reminiscence: The Beginning is no exception.  The film was beautifully shot and very beautiful to look at but the story was just not there.  The acting in this one is actually pretty damn good.  It was hard at times to understand the cast due to English not being their first language.  That does not stop the viewer from enjoying their performance.  They find all the right emotions and deliver up some solid scenes.  The story for this one is one hell of a leap for an indie production.  Trying to tackle the black hole theory along with parallel universes requires some serious writing and a modest budget otherwise you end up with the film we got.  A lack of story delivery with some overly-dramatic shots and cheap jump scares to over compensate.  The film could have ended 15 minutes in and the viewer would know just as much as they did by letting the film play out.  Finally, the film does have some blood on screen but lacks on screen deaths.  The film does not rely on the kills to drive the story home.  Instead, it does offer up some great atmosphere but has no idea what to actually do with it.  Overall, Reminiscence: The Beginning is a very ambitious film that lacks the delivery.  The film has a story but they are unable to properly tell it on camera.  I suggest staying away from this one.