Rather
refreshingly, this film presents a different kind of moon landing conspiracy
theory. We went up there and back, sure enough. NASA just tacked on a few extra
Apollo missions they never told us about. It turns out, one of those missions
was unusually significant in a supernaturally cosmic kind of way. Years later,
a Serbian-American CIA agent will investigate the consequences in Dejan Zecevic’s
The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon (trailer here), which releases
today on VOD.
Liz
Waid was a hacker who “volunteered” to serve her country after getting caught,
but she has been on inactive bereavement leave for several months after the
death of her son. Nobody is really eager to reactivate her for this mission, but
she will be working with veteran lone wolf John Francis Smith (his real name),
who always gets the job done.
Supposedly,
they are recovering a fallen satellite, but the presence of Dysart, a terminally
ill astronaut does not make sense for such a routine mission. They are not
thrilled to have Darko, a Serbian military liaison also tagging along, but
those are the rules. Of course, all their assumptions go out the window when
the satellite they thought they were tracking turns out to be someone or
something wearing the spacesuit of a fellow astronaut who disappeared during
Dysart’s fateful mission.
The
English-language Rift has been billed
as Serbia’s first science fiction film, but it could easily crossover into
horror sections. For instance, there are zombies, but they are definitely
dead-who-rise, in the Book of Revelations
tradition. Regardless, people just do not seem to stay dead in this remote
corner of Eastern Serbia. It also subtly recalls hints of William Peter Blatty’s
The Exorcist, which referenced
astronauts in space and was set in the same world as The Ninth Configuration. Of course, that rift in the space-time
continuum is pure sf (whereas the spooky isolated farmhouse setting takes us
back to horror).
Rift is messy and
eccentric, but its ambition is impressive. It also has a serious ace-in-the-hole
in its star and co-producer Ken Foree, whose very presence makes it of interest
to horror fans. It is thoroughly entertaining to watch him do his hardnosed
thing—and he looks like he has hardly aged a day since Brian Yuzna’s The Dentist. For extra added nostalgia,
Monte Markham plays Dysart, investing him with tragic dignity. As Waid,
Katarina Cas holds her own with the genre veterans, while Dragan Micanovic
gives expendable Darko more energy and dimension than you would expect. Plus,
Mick Garris appears briefly as Waid’s editor for her journalist cover-gig.
The
conclusion of Rift doesn’t make a
lick of sense whatsoever, but that is how it goes with genre cinema. The
soundtrack also sounds like a transparent attempt to copy the vibe of Pink
Floyd’s Dark Side album. Yet, Rift is still weirdly compelling.
Despite its rough edges, it is exactly the kind of film experienced cult film patrons
will want to revisit over time. Recommended for Foree fans and those who
appreciate offbeat category straddlers, Rift:
The Dark Side of the Moon is now available on VOD platforms.
