Combining the surrealist sci-fi of Luc Besson’s THE FIFTH ELEMENT with a hint of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, the grand design of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY with a fair amount of THE MATRIX and Tarkovsky’s SOLARIS (and perhaps an element of Lamont Johnson’s 1983 sci-fi cult offering SPACEHUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE) in mind and meld is BLOOD MACHINES, a brand-new 50-minute three parter directed by Seth Ickerman – or should we say two names of Raphaël Hernandez and Savitri Joly-Gonfard.
They are French directors, working for 10 years under the pseudonym of Seth Ickerman and without question their efforts here are something to absorb as much as view.
In a timeless universe, where ships appear to have a soul as much as a crew, a determined pair of space hunter-cum-salvage merchants are tracking an advanced spacecraft with a troubled A.I heart trying to free itself of a spirit to a psychedelic planetary phenomenon where they encounter some humanoid aliens trying to save the ship as well.
One of the hunters goes onto the planet armed to the teeth and then they witness what appears to be a birth of a full-sized naked woman entity that all of a sudden sprouts off into the heavens with a glowing cross on her body.
Their own computer, known as Tracy, looking a bit like a cross between Maria in Fritz Lang’s classic METROPOLIS and C-3PO also appears to have her own problems dealing with the planet and the female entity, something that the two space explorers are having a major issue coming to terms with….
OK, so there isn’t really much of a plot here, as it appears to be buried under the incredible combination of effects which are top of the range and on that aspect alone are the reason for viewing this work, which is certainly going to be something that sci-fi fans will want to embrace.
It does have the air of a show reel about it, but a very impressive one nonetheless and does tap into the concepts and ideas of the films that it has clearly been influenced by.
With cinemas still closed, product is still managing to find its’ way into alternate platforms and BLOOD MACHINES has impressed considerably, as it has become the official Selection of Fantastic Fest, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Etrange Film Festival, MOTELX, Strasbourg Fantastic Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, Glasgow Film Fest, Monster Fest and more.
Its’ release on Shudder will certainly make it one of the highlights of the upcoming scheduling.
Ignore the deeper meanings and get deeply involved in a highly visual stimulant.
BLOOD MACHINES is out now on AMC’s Horror Streaming Platform SHUDDER
