Spectral (2016)

A sci-fi/thriller story centered on a special-ops team that is dispatched to fight supernatural beings.

Director:

Nic Mathieu

Writers:

Ian Fried (story), Nic Mathieu (story)

Stars:

James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Bruce Greenwood

Cast

Credited cast:
James Badge Dale	...	Clyne
Emily Mortimer	...	Fran Madison
Bruce Greenwood	...	General Orland
Max Martini	...	Capt. Sessions
Cory Hardrict	...	Alessio
Clayne Crawford	...	Sgt. Toll
Gonzalo Menendez	...	Captain Marco Cabrera
Ursula Parker	...	Sari
Aaron Serban	...	Bogdan
Stephen Root	...	Dr. Mindala
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Akingbola	...	Sgt. Steve McFadden
Tsogbaatar Batzorig	...	Weapons Engineer
Mike Bodie	...	Efrem (as Michael Bodie)
Philip Bulcock	...	Sgt. Chris Davis
Miklós Bányai	...	Benson

Storyline

Civil Unrest in the European country of Moldova has US forces engaging the insurgents however there is a new threat who has decided both are their enemy. This new threat resides in an alternative spectrum that makes them invisible to the naked eye and instant death to anyone confronting them. Locals believe they are Spirits of War but others believe they are superior arms technology fabricated by the Moldova government..

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Plot Keywords:

moldova | supernatural | technology | human experiment | fictional war | 

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Taglines:

A supernatural Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi combat action

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Romanian Slovenian

Release Date:

9 December 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Avetinjsko

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Legendary Entertainment, Mid Atlantic Films, Netflix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where they are about to go into the building to save the squad of troops, that building looks like a house block, but when the scene changes indoors, that scene is taking place in Constanta Casino locate in Constanta, Romania.

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Goofs

Several instances of character lines overdubbed. Lips do not match the lines, but even when lips are not visible the overdubs are very loud and obvious.

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Quotes

[at around 6:30 minutes a team of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency officials are observing a Lab test of a potential weapon for use on the battlefield]
DoD official: Can you try this on living things?
Dr. Mindala: That wasn't our intent here... initially.
DoD official: We'd like you to test it.
Clyne: Any volunteers?
[several people around the lab chuckle under their breath]

User Reviews

Spectral

Soldiers vs. ghosts... science vs. superstition. One of my favorite themes of fantastic cinema is the basis of Spectral, an entertaining experience which combines elements of Aliens, Ghostbusters and The Asphyx, made with an interesting visual style in extraordinary European locations, even though its irregular screenplay avoids it from being totally satisfactory. I liked the central mystery of Spectral, as well as the main character's deductions, whose attitude is sober and rational at the beginning, like it corresponds to a scientist, in order to later get into supernatural territory when the evidence becomes undeniable. The actors fulfill with the dramatic requirements of the screenplay, starting by James Badge Dale, who credibly integrates his character's scientific and heroic facets. Meanwhile, Emily Mortimer adds adequate doses of government paranoia, and a warm motherly warmth a la Ripley, when she must take care of Newt (I'm sorry, Sari), the orphan girl rescued from the ruins. And finally, Bruce Greenwood also makes a good work as the classic military leader full of courage and determination. On the negative side, the screenplay includes a big number of coincidences (ALL the materials the soldiers need are on the floor of the destroyed city, as if they were playing Doom), various poorly defined characters with prefabricated dialogues (it seems that screenwriter George Nolfi got paid extra cash every time he wrote "Go!") and a general narrative superficiality which betrays the ingenuity of the ideas explored by the movie. But, well... despite my complaints, I had a good time watching Spectral, and I can give it a moderate recommendation because of that