The ship is being attacked by vines but she only has access to minor systems.
Over on the Protostar, Hologram Janeway has her own problems. After surviving the slide down the cliff they greeted with a rainstorm of digestive acid, which Zero, of course, finds fascinating. “Great idea, Gwyn” quickly turns into “Terrible idea, Gwyn” as the whole forest lights up trapping the crew on a cliff’s edge with no other choice but to jump. Phasers seem to have no effect on the scary bot, but Gwyn sorts out what would actually hurt a plant: fire. Although using Zero as a flashlight was a genius move by Dal.ĭebating what to name this planet Rok-Tahk’s suggestion of “Larry” is hilarious, but Jankom Pog’s “Murder Planet” is the real winner, especially after it manifests a giant Watcher robot. Things get spooky as they traverse a dark forest that is literally out to get them with the land transforming around them, making finding landmarks impossible. A quick call from Janeway informs them the ship is in good shape and only 10 kilometers away, but with the Evil Plant Planet swallowing up the Runaway buggy, they are going to have to leg it, which is even harder for the injured Gwyn, transforming her magical bracelet into a leg brace. Picking right where “Dreamcatcher” left off, the Proto-crew debate Gwyn’s fate with Dal still blaming her for their predicament, but the rest warmed by how she saved Murf. WARNING: Spoilers below! RECAP “If this planet eats our ship, we’re next”
MOVIES LIKE THE PRODIGY SERIES
Thrills and chills highlight the second half of the story that began with last week’s cliffhanger but also ties together nicely with themes and elements that have been building since the series premiere. The final quarter was fantastic and I definitely didn’t figure out all the twists and turns.Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 5 – Debuted Thursday, November 18, 2021ĭirected by Olga Ulanova SPOILER-FREE REVIEW I’m going to predict it will be a stand-alone film, however. I can’t help but like this film as a whole and would love to see another film to follow it. It’s in this part of the story that the narrative within The Prodigy gets to be different from stories that have similar elements. In fact, what was great is that even Miles takes a back seat as the Edward Scarka story is allowed to develop. For me, the external cast discovering what Miles is all about was where my attention was focused. The viewer knows he’s possessed and by who. Not to give the surprise element but to highlight Miles’ escalation of evil. It was clear Miles went into the basement, it’s shown when he removes the lightbulb. In fact, I’d go as far as saying they weren’t meant to make you jump. Horror tropes, where would we be without them? Just because you didn’t fly out of your seat in response to a predefined ‘jump scare’ doesn’t mean the setup wasn’t ominous in context. Taylor Schilling and Jackson Robert Scott Horror Tropes in The Prodigy It’s not too hard to see that John’s vague mention of an abusive father would make him immediately run for the hills when things get tough, but he does come back when things look to be out of control. Both play extremely reactive people who are plodding along blindly against their own histories. In addition, I also liked the way his mother Sarah, and father John were subdued as characters. Structurally, the circumstances cause a fantastic nerve-wracking landscape. In this case, the story’s inevitability stems from events caused by the audience seeing what the characters are not privy to. There’s only so much I can take of an enabling prop like Sarah.įor the most part in The Prodigy, there is a slow and steady build-up of tension and foreseeable dread. I mean, he might be small but the things he gets up to warrant a tiny bit more proactive-based problem solving if you know what I mean. They have that ‘suspend your belief’ vibe attached to them. The weakest points of this for me were to do with the reactions of some of the characters. Even though I’m usually finicky about smaller narrative details within films the great performances, hard spin on a tired possession theme, and amazing visuals forced me to overlook them. Seasoned horror film buffs will pick parts of this story apart and throw them in the trash.
Produced by Orion Pictures in association with XYZ Films.