Minor Premise

Director - Eric Schultz (Premise)

Starring - Sathya Sridharan (The Tick, Murderville), Paton Ashbrook (Born Bad, Barely Legal), Dana Ashbrook (Return of the Living Dead Part II, Twin Peaks)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror/Sci-Fi

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Every month when Vinegar Syndrome announces a new release I always check out the partner label's tab to see what new films we are getting from AGFA and Fun City Editions.  However, last month I was thrown for a loop when Vin Syn announced a new partner label Utopia.  Their first release, at least the first release I saw, was the 2020 sci-fi thriller Minor Premise.  The artwork really struck me so I went ahead and tossed it in my cart.  It was a true blind buy but the artwork looked too good to pass up.  When I got these in a few days back I was really looking forward to digging into it.  

     The film follows a neuroscientist who is living in his father's shadow.  He builds a machine that can better the person but not without consequences.  He then starts experimenting on himself with the machine where he has ten different parts of his personality fighting one another resulting in a dangerous outcome.

     I was really looking forward to checking this one out.  When Vin Syn announced the pre-orders for it I saw several people mention it and how wild it was.  However, I didn't enjoy it as much as they did.  The movie is rather predictable but does have some entertaining moments.  The acting in this one is pretty solid.  The film's lead, Sathya Sridharan, is fantastic.  His role is very demanding and he does a fantastic job with his character.  The supporting cast is pretty solid as well.  The characters fit the film very well and the cast does a great job at bringing them to life.  The story for this one is going to quickly be compared to films like Momento.  There is some similarities between the two but Minor Premise is going to take you deeper into the human psyche.  I loved the premise of the film but the movie focuses so much on Sridharan's character struggling that you forget what the story is truly about.  These long, drawn out and emotionally abusive scenes are well acted but they become very dry and repetitive.  I really wanted to get into this one but it felt like the film was a highlight reel for Sridharan instead of telling the story.  Finally, the film showcases some seriously incredible make-up effects but if you are looking for a bloody film you will be greatly disappointed.  This sci-fi thriller is very character focused and not so much are showing off effects.  Overall, Minor Premise seems to be popular among the more bigger film critics but I can't help but wonder if we watched the same film.  I was ready for the movie to end by the time I hit the 40 minute mark.  I really wanted to dig this one but I just can't do it.  Skip it.