National Post (National Edition)
Radius is a step into ... The Twilight Zone
Like a Twilight Zone episode of old, Radius opens with an arresting premise and then withholds some vital information, keeping you guessing right through to its shocking conclusion.
Exhibit 1: Liam (Diego Klattenhoff), who comes to after a car crash, unable to remember anything about himself. But he soon discovers something new; when he gets within about 20 metres of someone, they crumple and die. Animals too. Walking into a restaurant makes him an unintentional but effective serial killer.
Exhibit 2: Jane (Charlotte Sullivan), who seeks him out a short while later at his home, where he’s trying to avoid getting near anyone else. She was in the crash with him, also has no memory of herself, and is unaffected by his deadly new power.
Quebec co-writers and directors Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard start with this simple foundation and build up an impressive science-fiction mystery/thriller, as the two strangers (or are they?) try to figure out how they got this way and what can be done about it. They’re impressively logical in how they approach things, and the seasoned actors take it all very seriously, which helps ground the fantastical premise.
Meanwhile, Liam and Jane each experience flashbacks to their car ride and what happened immediately before it. The plot provides a morphine drip of clues, some of them immediately integrated into the action, others that linger as we perch on the edge of our seats wanting (needing!) more.
The plot twists are relatively few but emotionally devastating. The co-filmmakers have worked in the twilight once before with 2009’s Sans dessein (Lost Cause), a comedy about a man visited by the ghost of his future self. I haven’t seen that one — the trailer looks a little silly — but its makers are clearly tapping their inner Rod Serling this time out. •••• ½
Radius opens Dec. 1 in Winnipeg (where it was shot), across Quebec (whence the filmmaker came) and in Toronto (just because).