Cannes

Just like their website promotes, The Future Masters of Technology (FMOT) really do take low-budget films to a high-budget standard. Though featuring only three main characters, their Marché du Film feature, OUTPOST 11 is impeccably casted, yielding acting that follows suit. Through their characters, actors Billy Clarke, Luke Healy, and Joshua Mayes-Cooper (with a surprising appearance from screen veteran, Bernard Hill) shine just enough to highlight writer/director/producer Anthony Woodley's innovative script.

Set in an alternative past still powered by steam, the three soldiers' world is hauntingly well-established, as if they had been stuck inside this isolated listening post for an eternity already. After the warning light turns on, the impending chaos catalyzes the slow reveal of each character's true colors. We can't help but pick sides in the beginning, but as the line blurs between their descent into secluded madness and the people they were, we are brought to the edge of our seats, rooting for survival at any cost.

 Only taking five weeks to shoot, OUTPOST 11 really raises the bar for independent films, especially within the Cannes Festival. The dialogue seems perfectly natural, even given the strange personality-types thrown into an even stranger setting. The special effects, make-up, and score for the film all contribute to its overall high production value; the use of stop motion animation in one scene was the sole reminder of its low budget, but didn't detract from the final product in any way. The film does seem to drag a little toward the end, but the final version is around fifteen minutes shorter than the screened version in the Marché. 

 All in all, OUTPOST 11 was a thrilling surprise featuring all of the stylistic characteristics of a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster, without the monotony of the hackneyed post-apocalyptic storyline. The film will surely pave the way for more, higher financed FMOT productions to come.  

-By: Gina Titelman