Toxic Impulses
Cast: Benedikt Sebastian, Olivia Buckle, Helene Udy,
Jay Habre.
Critics Rating: 3,5 stars out of 5
Director: Kyle Schadt
Duration: 89 mins
Language: English
Genre: Thriller
Release details: Should be available on Amazon TVOD by December 31 – if not earlier
Story
When a former cop gets involved with his mysterious neighbour, he has no clue what he is signing up for. His decision to help her leads him back into the dangerous world of crime, lies, deceit and murder. Only this time he isn’t exactly on the right side of the law.
Review
When Kyle Schadt opens ‘Toxic Impulses’with a sweeping drone shot of the city after a black and white opening credit roll, he makes it amply clear that you’re in for a promising neo-noir crime thriller. And it is one. While the story and the writing itself are engaging and have some believable twists and turns, the treatment is what makes it special. For starters, Schadt gets down to business bang on from the very first scene and doesn’t waste time in verbose scenes that only add to the runtime. All the same, it would have helped if he could somehow given his two central characters Mosley (Benedikt Sebastian) and Zamira (Olivia Buckle) a little more backgrounder and context. It would help the audience relate with them better.
The element of mystery, however, is consistent and the plot revolves around only a few characters without unnecessary detours into other unproductive subplots. That’s a very good choice for a taut thriller. The background score and the cinematography effectively add to the element of urgency in the narrative and kind of make up for the film’s self-admitted budgetary constraints. That is not to say that this one looks like a grand scale crime thriller but when the writing is on point that little else matters. Often, when filmmakers get carried away with the fancier aspects of filmmaking giving lesser significance to the soul of their film (read story, screenplay and the way their characters are written), it’s bound to be doomed.
Performances range from serviceable to satisfactory. Benedikt Sebastian is believable as the man who follows his heart and gets into trouble, but that part is pretty predictable. Thankfully, his chemistry with Olivia Buckle is slightly unconventional. Some of the characters are gross caricatures like bad man Boyd played by Robert Ackerman Moss. Helene Udy doesn’t have much to go on with.
All in all, ‘Toxic Impulses’ gives you a good time within it limited means. It navigates unpredictable twists and turns with ease leading into an intensely gripping climax without going over the top with forced action sequences and long, laborious exchanges between the characters. It’s to the point and I am lovin’ it!
ReviewRon 