It's a Trap

Recently, I've written about a few cheaply made independent movies that didn't thrill me. So it's time to mention one that... well, okay, it didn't thrill me. But it was interesting, and maybe some of my readers would consider it worth a look.

Time Trap is a 2017 sci-fi film that seems like it gives away too much in its title. A pair of college students head out into the desert in search of their missing professor, with two younger kids in tow. They head into a cave they believe he explored, and then... things begin to get strange.

If you think you can guess what happens next, what's happening to them? I bet you're right. If you think you can guess what happens after that? Well... I bet you're right about that too. But if you think you know what's going to happen next? Well, let's just say that I thought I had the rough shape of the movie mapped out when, just shy of the halfway point, it took a wild turn that surprised the hell out of me.

It is definitely a weakness of the movie that you spend a great deal of it far ahead of the characters. Because you know they're in a movie and they don't, because you've seen sci-fi / thriller movies, and yes, because you know the title of this one, you're armed with a lot of information that it takes these characters far too long to catch up with. But this movie does want to operate within the tight space of a specific premise, and explore every inch of that space. So patience is eventually rewarded with the some exciting and fascinating developments.

I can't promise you much here. The acting is decent enough, though it doesn't feel like anyone has found their breakout role that will catapult them to stardom. The visual effects are pretty solid; the march of technology has democratized camera trickery to a degree that even a movie made cheaply like this can still present you some nifty images. Years from now, am I going to be saying, "you know what the best sci-fi movie you've never heard of is? Time Trap." No.

But... at a brisk 95 minutes, this movie packs in far more ideas than many Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters manage. Directors Mark Dennis and Ben Foster (working with a script by Dennis) seem to be putting "let's make a movie" into practice, and the results aren't half bad. I give Time Trap a B-.