Stories of mad science have been entertaining people for centuries. Whether it be from the literature of Mary Shelley, H. P. Lovecraft, or the films of Stuart Gordon and David Cronenberg, society is fascinated by the drive to push the boundaries of possibility. The latest film to explore the dark side of creativity is Calvin Lee Reeder’s The A-Frame.
An early interesting decision from Reeder, who also wrote the script for The A-Frame, is that the film’s protagonist is not the scientist. Typically, any film that explores scientific advances is told from the perspective of the driven scientist. These movies highlight their obsessive natures and chronicle their decline, with those around them left in the shadows. Another popular interpretation is to follow the story through the eyes of a loved one as they slowly uncover the horrors that their beloved has been working on. Reeder has instead opted for a third scenario, telling The A-Frame from the perspective of quantum physicist Sam’s (Johnny Whitworth) first human guinea pig, Donna (Dana Namerode). This change in vantage point shakes up the familiar story, but that’s not the only deviation that Reeder makes.
The plot sees pianist Donna diagnosed with bone cancer. On the verge of having to amputate her hand and end her musical dreams, she is approached by Sam, a quantum physicist with a rather bold claim. Through his work exploring a subatomic universe, Sam believes he has chanced upon the cure for cancer. Having tested his theory on rats, Sam is now in need of a willing human participant. With Donna tempted, she enters into a fraught relationship with Sam as both begin to test the limits of possibility, with terrifying consequences.
Billed as a sci-fi, horror comedy, at first glance it can be hard to understand exactly where The A-Frame’s humour comes from. On closer inspection, the laughs are subtly hidden within the more familiar set-up of sci-fi horror. The A-Frame never goes too hard on its comedy elements, but has enough of them to help lighten the tone. This is vital, especially considering that cancer is a serious disease that touches everyone in some way or another. These little flourishes also work to inject a sense of fun into The A-Frame.
Whilst comparisons to David Cronenberg’s The Fly are likely, due in part to the low-fi tech seen on screen, others can be drawn to both The Re-Animator and From Beyond. Although modern in narrative, visually Reeder channels the best and bloodiest of the mad science movies of the 80s with great effect. In a bid to make them as authentic as possible, The A-Frame’s effects are achieved primarily practically, with VFX only used to enhance the work of Allan B. Holt’s creations. The result is a goopy nightmarish vision that could have been lifted directly from any iconic 80s property. The arrival of these effects announces a new tonal direction for The A-Frame; with the stakes suddenly heightened, the darker side of the experiment begins to surface and the plot thickens in interesting ways.
The A-Frame presents the audience with a lot of fun twists on a well-worn archetype. Featuring a strong performance from Dana Namerode in one of her early lead roles, and a compelling shades of grey ‘bad guy’ from Johnny Whitworth, The A-Frame is an exciting slice of goopy science-fiction.
The A-Frame
Summary
With The A-Frame, Calvin Lee Reeder has crafted a love letter to the mad science-fiction horrors of the 80s, whilst advancing the genre in his own intricate and subtle ways.
The A-Frame was reviewed at TriBeCa 2024.
