CATALYST (2025)
3 stars
4Digital Media. Digital. Out Now
In the near future – there is rampant violence and conflict. There is corruption in the government and religion with terrorist and anarchists taking advantage as society was crumbling – in a nation once called the United States of America. There is chaos and civil war with many lives lost. No this isn’t a documentary!
As efforts to rebuild struggle, there are rumours of a secret society called The Collective – but who are they?
Alek (Michael Roark) enters a church, armed, and confronts the priest whom we assume abused him. He shoots him and runs from the building and is about to kill himself when he is tassered and bundled into a white van. He awakens naked in a desert landscape. There is a white car there. He manages to get to a jumpsuit by forcing the boot open. A buried phone buzzing – ‘This is your first test’.
The car is suddenly open but won’t start. Running he is chased by several men in masks who catch him and he soon finds himself imprisoned with six others. They all have collars on which are clearly a device to keep them in line, whilst masked soldiers stand guard.
They are told there are three rules: Do not attempt to leave. Do not disturb the collar. Do not kill another participant until you are ready.
They are challenged to do whatever it takes to stay alive and a disembodied voice tells them, ‘The parasite is among you’. What does it mean? Why are they there? What is going on? Each of them seems to have done something wrong. To have sinned. They are told to kill ‘the parasite’… whatever that means.
With echoes of SQUID GAME, this is quite stylishly shot with much of it high key desaturated imagery. However, most of it is made up of lots of talking, shouting, arguing and in-fighting and plays almost like a stage play (though the camera is constantly moving and there is lots of cutting from angle to angle).
Whilst it is initially interesting it soon becomes tiresome. Is it trying to make a point? Is it about redemption? Not sure I care…
Steve Kirkham
