Reeder’s The A-Frame

Sam Dunn is such a brilliant scientist, he accidentally cured cancer. At least that is how he sees himself. However, even he would admit his social graces are lacking. Regardless, he believes his Quantum Dislocator offers unexpected fringe benefits and lucky Donna Walker will make the perfect test subject to prove it in director-screenwriter Calvin Lee Reeder’s The A-Frame, which releases this Tuesday on digital VOD.

Walker’s bone cancer would not necessarily be fatal, but as a musician, she considers the prospect of a hand amputation almost as bad. Consequently, she figures she has little to lose when the hospital system-hacking Dunn approaches her. The way he explains, if she puts her hand in his Dislocator box, the quantum reconstruction essentially filters out the cancer. How does he know? Evidently, Dunn could only afford to buy lab discount rats that were already riddled with cancer for his experiments, but it worked out nicely, both for him and the rats.

At least that is his story and Walker’s experience initially confirms it. However, things get dicier when Dunn requests her help recruiting a full-body test subject. To fully measure his quantum process, the abrasive scientist needs to transfer a live human from one of his Stargate-like “A-Frames” to another, much like the teleportation experiment in Cronenberg’s The Fly. Of course, you will remember how well that worked out for Dr. Seth Brundle.

The A-Frame is by far Reeder’s most grounded film and not coincidentally, his most successful. (In contrast, his debut feature, The Oregonian is almost unwatchable. Maybe it is set in Oregon—it is hard to tell, but hopefully it is the closest most viewers will get to visiting Hell.) There is still a bit of Reeder’s grungy, disorienting style, but he reins it in to the point that it makes A-Frame distinctive and edgy rather than punishing.

Johnny Whitworth (who recurred on CS: Miami) also follows whole-heartedly in the hubristic mad scientist tradition, chewing the scenery with caustic relish as the arrogant Dunn. His cutting sarcasm is nicely counterbalanced by Dana Namerode as the more grounded (but nearly as acerbic) Walker. Their rhythm and rapport really helps Reeder power through the first act and thoroughly sets the hook for the ensuing chaos.

Essentially, A-Frame qualifies as science fiction, but there are a few scenes of spectacular gore. In fact, those are the only significant visuals effects. For the most, part, Reeder’s screenplay is very down-to-earth and rather sly.

Clearly, Reeder cautions against placing blind faith in science, which generally fits the zeitgeist of our current post-Covid, fatal gain-of-function era. This is indie sf at its grittiest, yet Reeder did enough quantum mechanics research to convincingly fake Dunn’s Dislocator business. Highly recommended for genre fans, The A-Frame releases Tuesday (8/6) on VOD.