Project Dorothy

This was a movie that I got the chance to see via screener thanks to Justin Cook. Looking at the press release, I saw that this was featured Tim DeZarn and Danielle Harris. I've had a crush on the latter Halloween movies she was in. She is older than I am, but at the time I thought we were the same age. DeZarn is an actor that has a distinct look and fits the roles that he takes on. After confirming that this is horror and a 2024 release, I agreed to watch.

Synopsis: after a botched robbery, two men take refuge in a remote and lifeless scientific facility, inadvertently awakening a monster within.

We start this with images of a factory including a darkened screen that is housed inside of a structure. We also see a woman in a lab coat who we will learn later to be Dr. Jillian (Olivia Scott). She along with others are in a panic due to an alarm and we see her flee with the rest.

This then shifts over to a cornfield. Blake (Adam Budron) and James (DeZarn) head toward a barn that is falling apart. These two committed a robbery. James was shot in the process, so he is limping. They're followed by two police officers, Neilson (George Henry Horton) and Romano (Emily Rafala). The two cops are called off though since the thieves entered a restricted zone.

They enter a large factory that turns out to be the one from the beginning. The only lights that are on would be the security ones. This duo gets cleaned up and look for a place to bed down for the night. There is something eerie going on here. The security cameras are watching them. We see through these that it is assessing the two individuals and watching what they're doing. James tends to his leg, which is worse than what he's letting on. He also finds documents that were being destroyed, but due to those working here fleeing like they did, it wasn't completely.

There was an experiment here with Artificial Intelligence. That was 30 years ago. Despite all that time, Dorothy (voiced by Harris) wakes up. James reading about the project increases the security threat. The true goal is hearing Blake state that he has an item that would allow the computer to connect to the internet. Dorothy is trying to escape and use everything in her power to do so.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then is that I thought this has an interesting set up and premise. Not necessarily one that is new, but with AI making a resurgence for different things, it does make this poignant. I did get vibes here of things like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator, Ghost in the Machine and Transcendence. There are a plethora of movies using this that you can think back to.

Where I'll start delving deeper is that this feels like a movie effected by the pandemic. We have a cast of six people. One of which is the writer/director. I wouldn't be shocked to learn that Harris did all her voice stuff in a day. Scott and Rafala also probably did all their work in a similar timeframe. This is dominated by DeZarn and Budron as they make it to this building and then trying to survive the night. I'm not saying this as a slight. Due to the abilities of this intelligence, Dorothy traps them. This system also toys with them as it demands the item that Blake has. This isn't a new idea and it's not doing anything too far out of normal. We get the classic anti-hero set up following criminals.

I will say that even though I've seen stories like this in the past, I don't mind the botched robbery set up. James is the veteran here where this is the first job that Blake planned. He got greedy stealing an extra necklace that resulted in James being shot. There is that guilt on both sides. James blaming himself for getting the younger thief involved. Blake feels bad for what happened. I thought both DeZarn and Budron were solid here in bringing their characters to life.

The only other thing for the story is that I love the setting and having this computer trapping them. Harris brings personality to this AI system. It uses forklifts as weapons. I do like that there's a place the thieves find to formulate their plan. Again, nothing new here, but I thought it was entertaining with the story they built.

I've already said that our three leads were solid. I'll say the rest of the acting was fine in their limited roles. That takes me to the other aspect which is filmmaking. I thought the cinematography was good. This is a few setting and it captures that feel. It also feels like a labyrinth was disorienting. It also makes it tough to escape. We don't get a lot in the way of effects here, which I'm glad. The security cameras being the 'eyes' of the system work. Also, the thing that houses the screens to be the 'face' is a good touch. Everything else seemed practical from what I remembered which I'm glad. Other than that, the soundtrack was fine. It doesn't necessarily stand out. I do like the sound design for Dorothy to taught these guys. Harris' work works well for that.

In conclusion, this is a solid low budget, independent film. It uses ideas and concepts that we've seen before. When looking at it like that, it is generic. I still enjoyed my time here. I thought that the three leads, Harris, DeZarn and Budron, played their characters well. This has a good setting and I think the cinematography captures that. The rest of the filmmaking is fine. Sound design is a bright spot there. Won't be for everyone. I'd recommend it if you're into independent cinema as this is a fast watch.

My Rating: 5 out of 10.

An idiot kid and his father figure partner in crime bungle through an encounter with a sexily diabolical female AI who wants to get high on some WiFi. She controls the lighting, door locks and forklifts in a ridiculously vast factory/warehouse and taunts the dumb and dumber duo who stumble into her domain. The idiot kid's acting is so bad it becomes unbearably annoying. The father figure partner in crime is a better actor but has nothing much to work with besides a gunshot wound in the leg which becomes quite a nuisance for him as well as for the viewing audience. Somehow still watchable, it portrays an eerie element mixed in with occasional unintentional hilarity.

This film does a lot with very little. It's not a big-budget CGI-laden flick or all-star cast A24-style production, but you never get the sense it's trying to be. It's rather an exercise in budget minimalism within the action-thriller genre, a class of film where operating with little budget is incredibly challenging. In that, it surpasses all expectations.

The first thing that stands out is the acting, which stands up admirably against any action thriller, but is head and shoulders above performances in other action B movies. As a lover of this genre, I can tell you that the performances in these kinds of movies are often an afterthought, if not altogether scorned by the cast and crew. In Project Dorothy by contrast, the performances between the film's two stars (Tim DeZarn plays an aging criminal mentor to Adam Budron's character, Blake) feel multilayered, yet natural. The film is not a dialogue-first character piece, but it does interweave a good character-to-character subplot below the main brunt of action and suspense, something movies with 10X this film's budget so often fail to do.

The writing also holds up well, with dialogue not feeling forced or over-engineered, and a pacing structure that neither feels too fast nor too slow (another common pitfall of the genre).

Lastly, the directing deserves a lot of praise for, again, doing a lot with very little. Keeping an entire film within the confines of an abandoned warehouse is not an easy task for an easily bored action-thriller viewer base (I count myself among them), but the film at no point feels boring or rushed. There are brief moments of camp or that require a brief suspension of disbelief (why is there no dust in the warehouse, for example), but among the pantheon of sins this genre is known for, these are easily forgiven and forgotten, and all in all, I was having far too much fun to care.

All in all, this film does an impressive with incredibly little. Hats off to the filmmakers for their efficiency and skill in taking what should have been another wooden micro-budget B-movie, and making it a fun, engaging, and at times even heartfelt story.

Project Dorothy had the potential to be a captivating film, but unfortunately, it fails to live up to expectations. The acting throughout the movie is subpar, lacking the depth and emotion needed to truly engage the audience. Furthermore, the script feels uninspired and overly generic, especially in its portrayal of technology. Instead of offering innovative ideas or thought-provoking concepts, the technological aspects of the film come across as unrealistic and disconnected from reality.

As a viewer, it's difficult to suspend disbelief and fully immerse oneself in the story when the technological elements don't make sense. This lack of coherence detracts from the overall viewing experience and leaves the audience feeling disconnected from the narrative.

Ultimately, 'Project Dorothy' is not a particularly enjoyable movie. Despite its potential, it fails to deliver on multiple fronts, from the quality of the acting to the believability of the script. While it may have some redeeming qualities, such as decent production values or an interesting premise, these are overshadowed by the film's numerous shortcomings.

In summary, 'Project Dorothy' is a disappointing film that falls short of its potential. With poor acting, a generic script, and technological inconsistencies, it fails to captivate audiences and ultimately leaves them feeling underwhelmed.

It was with a bit of hesitation that I sat down to watch the 2024 sci-fi thriller titled "Project Dorothy", as I happened to stumble upon it by random chance. I had never heard about the movie, but I have to say that the movie's cover and synopsis just wasn't really doing much of making it seem like a stellar movie.

Regardless, I opted to give the movie a fair chance, on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen. So in a sense, then I suppose writers George Henry Horton and Ryan Scaringe had every opportunity to entertain and impress me with their movie.

The storyline concocted by writers George Henry Horton and Ryan Scaringe proved rather bland. It was a movie that I had problems submerging myself into, because it was just hard to take it serious. Growling forklifts? What's up with that? And the movie just didn't have an ounce of being as high tech as the synopsis made it out to be.

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. The acting performances were fair, but you're not in for anything grand here. It was a small cast ensemble, so the actors and actresses had to put on more convincing performances to carry the movie.

Visually then you're not in for any grand spectacle of special effects. It was a rather low tech and low key movie in terms of special effects.

I was not particularly entertained by the movie, as I happen to not find unseen things moving about and growling as proper entertainment, nor do I consider lights being continuously switched on and off as being entertaining.

While "Project Dorothy" wasn't an impressive movie, I have to say that I've sat through worse sci-fi thrillers than what director George Henry Horton delivered here. This movie was one where you just disconnect your brain and blankly watch the screen, as it offers nothing to think about.

My rating of "Project Dorothy" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.