The plan was simple: Rob a fortune, lay low for two weeks in an abandoned farm, spend some quality time with your estranged sister, make plans for the future, and when you come back to your own time, enjoy your millions. What could go wrong?

Just about everything… Since you are invading a property that belongs to some people with abilities beyond your comprehension that might not like that you are using their realm as an AirBnb, and won’t let you go until you comply with a mission that might cost you more than the fortune you stole. 

This is the premise of “Things Will be Different”, a very original tale of suspense and science fiction written and directed by Michael Felker, where sanity and family bonds will be put to the test. This film will be released on select cinemas and VOD on October 4th.

I saw this film twice, and let me tell you, you better prepare to have your brains hurt… but in a good way. Although “Things Will Be Different” is slow at some (brief) moments, it still is an entertaining ride. But I had to reflect for some time about certain parts of the film once it ended, and that had not happened a lot since I saw “Primer” back in 2004. (“Resolution” being another occasion). 

For starters, I will say that I liked the two leads a lot, and I think they worked very well together on the screen. That is a good thing, because for a good chunk at the beginning of the film we just hang out with the siblings Joseph and Sidney, and we get to hear about their backstories, reflecting where their lives went wrong and how this last job will be their chance to turn things around. 

This could have turned boring after a while, but the pacing of the film was very good and just before we had our fill of the siblings having heart-to-heart conversations, we see that their plans to go back home to their own time are blocked by some mysterious agents. Here is where the stakes are raised.

I am a sucker for movies about time travel, alternative realities and what not, and as such, I could not avoid trying to guess a lot of the mysteries of the farm and what it can do. There is a very interesting dynamic about how the siblings get to communicate with the agents in charge of the farm. Little by little we get chunks of information that might help us to understand the identity of the people holding Joseph and Sidney captive, but the film ends up with some questions unanswered, and also I believe that some of the twists at the end did not fit completely.

I am being vague on purpose, because I think this is a film you need to see, and I am also leaving the chance that I might have missed something that makes those details that I felt off make sense.  

Just like “Primer”, “Resolution” and another film that I highly recommend, “Synchronic”, this film shows that you can have a great story dealing with science fiction without the need of expensive special effects. (By the way, the director was also the editor in “The Endless” a sequel of sorts to “Resolution”, and he also edited “Synchronic”). This film relies more on dialogue and interesting characters, but also brings a lot of action and tension in the third act. 

“Things Will Be Different” was written and directed by Michael Felker, with Riley Dandy and Adam David Thompson in the main roles. The film was produced by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, creators of «Resolution»,»The Endless» and «Synchronic»

Do not miss this film when it gets released on (select) theaters and VOD on October 4th.