Ramiro Hernandez’s third venture into the craft of the short film, Replay, could be called self-referential. In his perhaps too brief inquiry into one of the more serious concerns facing us at the turn of the 21st century, he gives us Donna (Nicole Richards) and Kylie (Emily Argenti), two girls who are being stalked by a man in a mask. However, just as the knife-brandishing killer looms inevitably over them, the camera cuts to Kylie, who is self-assuredly lining up her shot with a pistol the size of her head. After the kill shot, her friend commends her on her marksmanship.
A black humor ode to the slasher genre? Not exactly. The aforementioned scenario serves as a segue for Hernandez to examine the nature and ethical ramifications of virtual reality. At its inception, VR was only laughable as we were granted holographic images which, though intriguing, never posed a serious danger to the authenticity of our world. However, as time and technology progressed (as modern day CGI readily attests), what was once a hollow menace has transformed into a noteworthy preoccupation for theorists.
The director breeches this anxiety by bringing us back to reality as the girls remove their VR helmets, thus revealing that what we have just witnessed to be a fabricated reality and, as such, a safe fiction. However, after Kylie’s mom inquires as to what the two friends are playing, Donna quickly switches the current disc for “Fantasy Voyage” (replete with Monty Python-period Terry Gilliam imagery). “Misses D.” (Jamie Knee) leaves satisfied. It is only after Kylie’s mother departs that Donna divulges that the disc they were playing is a discarded failed military training prototype left in the trash by her programmer father, Carter (T.S. Gant). Ominously, Kylie’s apprehension at what they have just exposed themselves manifests itself as the filmmaker’s thesis: What if the antagonist of a video game were to cross over?
In short, the essence of Kylie’s question is one that several avant garde filmmakers have posited in the past. We watched as Wes Craven, with Baudrillardian precision, disconcertingly climbed over the Fourth Wall in New Nightmare. However, Hernandez’s work more closely aligns itself to the VR dilemma witnessed in David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ and, at that, to an arguably plagiaristic degree. Granted, Hernandez leaves knowing winks and nods to the astute viewer whereas the Canadian director does not (thus leaving us completely lost as to the authenticity of our current “reality”). The noticeably CGI butterfly which lights on a chain link fence during the opening frame is seen trampled underfoot as, once again, the villain from moments prior appears in order to continue his pursuit of the girls. But the question now stands: To what discernable ends from that of Cronenberg?
Though the premise is a contemporary hot topic in epistemology circles and cyberpunk chat rooms, the director does little to distinguish himself from his predecessors. Sure, the characters and circumstances differ, yet the genesis and execution of the philosophical conflict remains the same. Moreover, Replay suffers in that, while voluntarily stepping into a path already hallowed out by some very large shoes, the film’s director further handicaps himself by positing himself alongside feature-length exposés. Yes, Hernandez is a burgeoning filmmaker, working with little to no budget, but by electing to do Replay, such is analogous to attempting to fashion a film about morphing automobiles on a $12 tab. Regardless of how well the dozen bucks are spent, they are nonetheless no match for the equally well produced 12 million dollar blockbuster doing the same thing. This is why, in part, Daniel Myrick’s The Blair Witch Project was applauded: The director had the presence of mind, not only to expertly place his scant monetary allotment, but allowed necessity to become the proverbial mother of invention as he crafted an original story so as to not come across as a Johnny Come Lately.
One cannot say that Ramiro Hernandez set out to make a piece of cinematic fluff with Replay. He chose a very important, timely, and relevant topic. However, his failure lies in the fact the subject matter of his film has been previously explored, and at greater length, prior to the premier of his feature. I will say this however. Given that the director does not shy away from a narrative challenge and that the CGI enclosed in the low budget affair holds its own (thus compensating for the lax acting), I would venture to guess that, given time, a bigger wallet, and a new premise of a cyberpunk nature, Hernandez might well redeem himself in the near future. As the saying goes, for one to become a great poet, the person is obligated to pen the rote love ditty in order to progress to the next level. We can hope that Hernandez is on the cusp of another cinematic tier after having gotten Replay out of his system.
-Egregious Gurnow
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
