Radius Review: There’s a head-scratching mystery to solve in Radius as a man realises that anyone who gets within 50 feet of him inexplicably drops dead.
Radius Review
Imagine if you will, that you wake up and find yourself surrounded by dead people, it’s a pretty scary thought. Imagine further that every time you come into close proximity with a living creature it inexplicably drops dead. Terrifying right? Well that scenario is the premise for Radius.
Liam (Diego Klattenhoff) wakes up from a car crash, surrounded by dead bodies, all afflicted with the same strange pale eyes. Thinking that there must be some sort of virus he races home, however, along the way he encounters unaffected people who soon drop dead right in front of him. He quickly realises that anyone that comes within a fifty yard radius of him instantly dies. He vows to shut himself away from the living, that is until Jane (Charlotte Sullivan) turns up on his doorstep and still alive. Then everything changes and the pair race to find out what connects them as they try and fix Liam’s problem.
Radius Review
A film with just two main characters can be made or broken by it’s leads. Radius fortunately falls into the former, with both Diego Klattenhoff and Charlotte Sullivan giving fantastic performances. The chemistry between them is brilliant, and you buy into their situation almost immediately. As the story progresses, and their relationship develops, you find yourself connecting more and more with them, which makes for a heart-wrenching finale as events escalate.
Radius presents a story shrouded in many layers of mystery that will keep the mind whirling. Events are engaging, if not a little slow to get moving. At only ninety minutes, the pace moves so slowly that the movie seems to gain an extra half hour. Slow and steady action takes a backseat in favour of creating a drama about the importance of human interactions. Those that commit to the experience will find a wealth of enjoyment.
Radius Review
Potentially a story that would be better explored with the context of a television series, Radius does a lot of world building, but doesn’t really have anywhere to expand into. Just as you’ve gotten settled into the sombre setting, everything gets turned around, the tension and ambiguity lost. Were it to have a little longer to marinade, the payoff would be huge. This is one story with a sting in the tail, and its just a shame that it doesn’t impact as strongly as it should.
A quiet and subdued study into the importance of human connections, Radius offers an intriguing mystery, complete with solid performances and a compelling story.
Radius review by Kat Hughes, August 2017.
Radius is currently playing as part of the Horror Channel Frighfest 2017 programme.
