Warning

When a freak storm hits, a lone astronaut (Thomas Jane) is left drifting aimlessly through space with nothing to do but to contemplate the meaning of his life and his impending death as he looks out towards Earth. Meanwhile, the same storm has caused havoc with electronics at home. A series of interconnected characters’ lives are consequently turned upside-down as the loss of technology has a troubling impact with dark consequences.

Directed and co-written by Agata Alexander in her feature debut, Warning is a Black Mirror-esque sci-fi anthology that puts a creative and thoughtful slant on themes of existence, faith and technology. There’s no shortage of fascinating and unique concepts here; however, the flick is frustratingly unable to combine its ideas into one cohesive whole. The result is a production that feels oddly incomplete.

There are many fantastic concepts lurking in this anthology. One segment sees a woman (Kylie Bunbury) stalked by a virtual shadow that voyeuristically watches moments of her life through online videos. In another, a rich family deals with being immortal thanks to technological advancements. But the most enthralling of all revolves around a meek but kindhearted woman (Alice Eve) who has her life micro-managed by an AI version of God. Many of these ideas could be the premise for their own twisted sci-fi thrillers, and Alexander squeezes enough out of them to keep viewers glued to the screen. It’s disappointing, then, that many of these segments don’t have a satisfying conclusion; they simply drop out of the script to be replaced by something that’s nowhere as interesting.

The brand of black humour used is likewise hit-or-miss here. Its off-beat style lends itself perfectly to the tonal weirdness of some sequences, emphasising the wicked creativity of many of the central themes. But for some more serious parts, the humour comes across as too silly and subsequently undermines what’s onscreen. This is most evident in the flick’s ending where a self-indulgent punchline ends events with a hollow fanfare. Though thematically appropriate, the messy final act renders the closing joke unearned. 

Warning is a very mixed bag of ideas: some are fantastic while others struggle to find a place within the bigger picture. But its biggest failing is how it’s unable to unite these ideas together.

Andrew Murray

Warning is released digitally on demand on 25^th October 2021.

Watch the trailer for Warning here: