Extracted Directed by: Nir Paniry Starring: Sasha Roiz, Dominic Bogart, Jenny Mollen Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: TBA
TRAILER SCORE: 7/10
Thoughts by TSR: Selling a high concept sci-fi film like this is hard enough. Selling one with no notable stars or filmmakers is a whole different level. Sometimes you end up with a masterpiece like Primer, but more often than not it ends up being forgettable. I’m not saying Extracted needs to be as good as Primer – very few things are – but if it lives up to this quality trailer, it might be a film (and filmmaker) to keep an eye on when it bows at SXSW next month.
I’m not familiar with any of the main cast other than Sasha Roiz, but they all seem to be doing solid work - a few rough moments from Dominic Bogart aside. It also looks to be a fairly well-made film, which is a plus. Where the trailer is most successful, however, is in laying out its concept and making me interested. There’s one moment where Jenny Mollen’s character says, “It’s unethical. It’s an invasion of privacy,” regarding the ability to go into people’s memories. I hope these ethical questions are something the film wants to explore in depth. Extracted looks like a fine sci-fi thriller on the surface, but I think it could be great if it has aspirations of going deeper.