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FrightFest 2024: A Liminal Space Sci-Fi Thriller Promises ‘Things Will Be Different’

Image Courtesy of FrightFest

When I see the company “Rustic Films” attached to a movie, you can count on me being immediately interested. The production company is a way of saying Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, and David Lawson Jr. have given the movie you’re about to see their thumbs up, and you know with that endorsement, it’s likely going to be a sci-fi mindblower. This is the team that made Resolution, The Endless, Something in the Dirt, and Synchronic, so when it comes to time-traveling sci-fi magic, they tend to know what they’re talking about. Seeing the production team attached to Things Will Be Different when it first premiered at SXSW. I knew to keep an eye out for when it would cross my path. Additionally, I discovered writer-director Michael Felker is the team’s long-time collaborator, an associate producer on Resolution, and an editor on their projects since.

Things Will Be Different fits in well with the other films in the Rustic compendium, as an estranged bank-robbing brother and sister duo meet up at a diner after their heist before escaping to a unique farmhouse with a time-bending secret. The plan is to abscond with the cash to said farmhouse, hide out in a liminal space outside of the timeline for two weeks, and return to the timeline at a point where no one is looking for them. But, when it comes to the laws of the space-time continuum, science fiction fans and physicists both know that nothing is ever simple.

During their two-week vacation away from the world, Joseph (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy) have a chance to reconnect before a sign appears on the door that will transport them back to the timeline, leading them to a rundown church inside of an old mill. In the pulpit, Joe and Sid are made to sign a carved terms and conditions clause or face being wiped out of existence. Disney Plus, eat your heart out. The mysterious metaphysical timekeepers use a Lake House mailbox, in the form of a safe here, to communicate with Joseph and Sidney and present them with the rules for their survival. The timekeepers (Justin Benson and Sarah Bolger) tell the pair that the only way they’ll ever get out of this place is to find an unwelcome third visitor who poses a threat to the timeline and dispatch them before they escape.

A man stands looking into a cabinet with a class door, a woman stands to his right looking at him under a staircase in THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT

As The Backrooms concepts continue to gain traction in horror spaces, the idea of liminal places that exist outside of space and time is becoming an attractive prospect to low-budget filmmaking. The concepts are fun and malleable, meaning you can do a lot with very little. Things Will Be Different relies on its impeccable storytelling that utilizes the science fiction concept. This means that while the audience focuses on the rules and boundaries brought by the ominous nature of Felker’s concept, dramatic familial bonding scenes have facilitated great characters, which are embodied through the chemistry between Thompson and Dandy. The two are so convincing as brother and sister that it isn’t even a question that one would do just about anything to help the other.

The color tone of Things Will Be Different also helps with the film’s dramatic aspects. There are reasons that the characters have robbed a bank and entered this place, and there’s dread when they’re unable to return. The hopeful warm tones at the start of the film become cold as their plight becomes dire, forcefully creating an intrinsic reason to hurry. That stifling anxiety is indelibly familiar, guiding flawed characters to make emotional decisions that lead to the fateful outcome of this morality tale. The film hints at neverending cycles, blending the past and the future into a haunting mixture of guilt, fear, and grief decisions to effect one very exciting horror-thriller.

The movie’s final shot sequence starts with a picture on the wall and ends with a picture on the wall, while the song “Too Late to Turn Back Now” by Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose leads viewers to the credits, which is masterfully done. The music in the film is another highlight, with songs by Protée and Lost Shaman that work perfectly within the context of the film. Felker’s fully orchestrated vision for the look, tempo, pace, and sound of Things Will Be Different is largely why it works, subtly proposing the possibility of unseen forces. It makes for a fascinating, entrancing, and original story, pulling viewers into a story that is far from familiar, even if it uses recognizable tropes. Rustic Films’ fans are sure to have a new indie hit on their hands with Things Will Be Different, as well as sci-fi fans of movies like Brightwood, Timecrimes, and Looper.

Things Will Be Different held its UK Premiere at FrightFest on August 23. Tickets are available for the encore showing on August 26. The film is set to be released theatrically and on PVOD stateside by Magnet on October 4.

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT – Trailer | BIFFF2024

Official Selection of the 42nd Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF). www.bifff.net ©The lending company of the film approved the use of this trailer with promotion purposes for the 42nd edition of the BIFFF, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Please do not report us.

Written by Sean Parker

Living just outside of Boston, Sean has always been facinated by what horror can tell us about contemporary society. He started writing music reviews for a local newspaper in his twenties and found a love for the art of thematic and symbolic analysis. Sean joined 25YL in 2020, and is currently the site's Creative Director. He produced and edited his former site's weekly podcast and has interviewed many guests. He has recently started his foray into feature film production as well, his credits include Alice Maio Mackay's Bad Girl Boogey, Michelle Iannantuono's Livescreamers, and Ricky Glore's upcoming Troma picture, Sweet Meats.

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