Encrypt (2003)

By the year 2068, the Earth's ozone is gone, violent and uncontrollable storms are razing it's surface as a result. A small group of military survivors are the defenders of the last of ... See full summary »

Director:

Oscar L. Costo

Writers:

Richard Taylor (story), Richard Taylor (teleplay)

Stars:

Grant Show, Vivian Wu, Steve Bacic

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Grant Show	...	Garth
Vivian Wu	...	Diana
Steve Bacic	...	Lapierre
Matthew G. Taylor	...	King
Naomi Gaskin	...	Hernandez
Wayne 'Crescendo' Ward	...	Ebershaw (as Wayne Ward)
Art Hindle	...	Anton Reich
Hannah Lochner	...	Mandy
Vickie Papavs	...	Mandy's Mom
Mairtin O'Carrigan	...	Garth's Dad
Carolyn Goff	...	Elaine
Billy Otis	...	Lead Rat
Mauricio Rodas	...	Chortling Rat
Jeff Kassel	...	Limping Rat
Kelly Fiddick	...	Survivor

Storyline

By the year 2068, the Earth's ozone is gone, violent and uncontrollable storms are razing it's surface as a result. A small group of military survivors are the defenders of the last of human kind and when Captain John Garth is approached to do a job by a former brother-in-arms Lapierre, who is now employed by Reich, an eco-profiteer, in order to save his father & a few other survivors Garth agrees. He & a small group of mercenaries are to break into the near-impenetrable Vincent Estate & retrieve priceless works of "art" that were stored there before the apocalypse. But there is a deadly computer controlled defense system called "Encrypt" that they must circumvent, along with a killer robot called the Rook & the human-like holographic security chief Diana, who holds the key to Earth's total destruction---or it's complete salvation.

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Plot Keywords:

fictional war | scavenger | puzzle | post apocalypse | museum | 

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Codificado

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 2068.

User Reviews

Another perspective

As the "other writer" on this project, let me give a few of you an eduction on the wonderful world of TV production. While the original screenplay Encrypt, written by Richard Taylor, was solid, it was written as a big movie. At a studio level, it would have been budgeted between $60-80 million. On an independent level, it probably would have cost around $10 million. The original movies for the Sci-fi channel are budgeted at $2 million, which after above the line costs (actors, directors, writers, producers), it's actually considerably less. Obviously, for this kind of money, the production quality on every level is going to be less than your standard Fox movie of the week. Secondly, this is a TV MOVIE, which means it has to fit into a formula predetermined by the network by past successes (i.e. commercial breaks every twenty minutes, and a structure that leaves cliff hangers before every break). It has an "episodic feel" because it is episodic TV. And for this genre, that means action beats with a body count. That means adding a team. Now, while the character development for the team members clearly didn't work, some of that was due to casting (Torontonian actors don't seem to "get" the American commando stuff), and a last minute order to "cut one character" riddled the piece with lost lines and lost moments. Lastly, (and we go back to the budget for this one), everything has to take place in one or two locations (moving around is costly), which means you usually end up forcing your set-pieces into whatever rooms are available at your primary location. As a result, things feel less organic than they should. That being said, Encrypt was better received than the few readers here have commented. The director did tremendous things within the limitations given him and both Grant and Vivian grounded the film with strong, emotional performances. Could the movie have been better? Sure. But given the time, budgetary and other constraints, the efforts put forth by many deserves a little more respect, especially given all of their good intentions.