Debug (film)

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Debug
Directed byDavid Hewlett
Written byDavid Hewlett
Produced bySteve Hoban
Starring
CinematographyGavin Smith
Edited by
Music byTim Williams
Production
company
Copperheart Entertainment
Distributed bySignature Entertainment
Release date
  • 3 November 2014 (2014-11-03) (UK)[1]
Running time
82 minutes[2]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Debug is a 2014 Canadian

Kjartan Hewitt, Sidney Leeder, and Jadyn Wong as computer programmers who must deal with a hostile artificial intelligence
on an interstellar spaceship. It was released on 3 November 2014 in the UK.

Plot

Six programmers incarcerated for hacking are out on work release, led by the Corrections officer Capra. Their mission is to reboot and restore the abandoned spacecraft found floating aimlessly through space.

Once on the spacecraft, each hacker, is assigned a task to reboot the system. Before assignment begins, Mel argues that he should be in charge of the task because Kaida had a fellow prisoner killed on last work release (it remains unclear if that was done intentionally or accidentally). Capra, the Corrections officer, puts Mel in charge and the mission begins. Capra restores power to the spacecraft so the hackers can get to work, each working on different computer terminals in separate levels of the ship, communicating through virtual headsets.

The system goes into Lockdown, trapping the entire crew on the vessel. With Capra locked in with the rest of the hackers and nowhere to go, he decides to take a look around. Finding a medical bay, Capra straps himself to an arm receptacle to test his blood pressure. His arm gets trapped and a needle appears, with the AI system taking form in front of him. Capra is then injected with

Nanotech
material that turns him into a killing machine acting for the AI.

Kaida and James start to experience the illusions of the AI system. Meanwhile, Mel and Lara, who are secret lovers, get tricked by the AI system and lured into trouble. Samson, who is scared of rats, sets a trap for a rat, which leads to the AI system trapping him, when suddenly Capra appears. Diondra links into the AI system to reboot it when the AI programs tempts her with a data storage cube full of bank accounts from the former crew aboard the spacecraft that all went missing. Diondra is led into a sewage pipe, where a decayed dead body appears; she kicks it down the pipe and finds out that the dead body has the cube on it. Diondra follows after the body to retrieve the cube, the AI system locks the door behind her, and floods the pipe with sewage.

Mel, James, and Kaida meet up after experiencing all the strange things the AI system is doing. Mel argues with Kaida and James defends her, then Capra appears and attacks the hackers. Kaida manages to kill Capra by shutting the airlock on him.

James is wounded and unconscious, and Kaida is brought into the AI system simulation. Here she faces the AI lead system and proceeds to fight. Eventually Kaida destroys the AI but has no way of getting out. James is then seen waking up, and James and Kaida are now the only survivors.

The final scene shows James no longer a prisoner but instead an Admiral of the same spacecraft with Kaida who is now in the virtual world as the AI operating system. They are in charge of a new flight with a new crew.

Cast

  • Jeananne Goossen[3] as Kaida, the lead programmer
  • Adrian Holmes[3] as Capra, the corrections officer in charge of the group of hackers
  • Adam Butcher[3] as James McKay, the youngest member of the group of hackers
  • Kerr Hewitt (credited as Kjartan Hewitt)[3] as Mel Wheeler, an expert in computers and the leader of the group
  • Kyle Mac as Samson Connoly, the rebel of the group who is also afraid of rats
  • Sidney Leeder[3] as Lara Riley, a young woman who is also a convicted eco-terrorist and who is later revealed to have feelings for Mel Wheeler
  • Jadyn Wong[3] as Diondra Tam
  • Jason Momoa[3] as Iam, the ship's psychopathic AI who ends up turning the group of hackers against each other
  • Tenika Davis as the unnamed Female Prisoner seen at the beginning of the film
  • Kate Hewlett as Accounting Program

Production

Writer-director Hewlett was inspired by

against type. Momoa wanted to do a project different than his traditional roles, and Hewlett was impressed with Momoa's creativity and range; the two men had previously worked together on the sci-fi series Stargate Atlantis. Although there were concerns about the AI's name, Iam, Hewlett settled the disputes by stating that names are inherently subjective.[7]

Production took place at

Shock Till You Drop reported that it had completed production and was awaiting distribution.[11]

Release

Signature Entertainment released Debug in the UK on 3 November 2014.[1] Entertainment One distributed the film in Canada.[3] Ketchup released it on DVD in the US on June 9, 2015.[12]

Reception

Charles Packer of Sci Fi Online rated it 7/10 stars and wrote that the film is unoriginal but worth a watch.

The Toronto Sun praised the film's production values but said the execution and story were "machinelike".[18] Randall King of the Winnipeg Free Press wrote that the film's plot might have worked 20 years ago, but the film only serves to devalue Canadian exploitation films now.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Collinson, Gary (2014-10-27). "Giveaway – Win Debug on DVD". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 2014-11-03.
  2. BBFC
    . Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Vlessing, Elan (2013-03-11). "Entertainment One Acquires Canadian Rights to David Hewlett Thriller 'Debug'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  4. Blastr. Archived from the original
    on 2015-07-30. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  5. ^ Wilson, Staci Layne (2015-06-09). "Exclusive Interview with David Hewlett on Debug". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  6. ^ Whittaker, Richard (2015-06-09). "DVDanger: Debug". The Austin Chronicle.
  7. Blastr
    . Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  8. The Toronto Star
    . Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  9. ^ Barton, Steve (2013-02-12). "David Hewlett to Debug the Sci-Fi/Horror Genre". Dread Central. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  10. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (2014-01-30). "Paris-based WTFilms Expands Scope Beyond Pure Genre". Variety. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  11. Shock Till You Drop
    . Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  12. ^ Horricks, Larry D. (2015-06-09). "New DVD releases: 'Kingsman,' 'The DUFF,' 'Project Almanac'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  13. ^ Packer, Charles (2014-11-03). "Debug". Sci Fi Online. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  14. ^ Harley, Joel (2015-01-25). "Debug". Horror Talk. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  15. ^ Wheeler, Brad (2015-05-29). "Debug: Hewlett's gory homegrown sci-fi story never achieves liftoff". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  16. ^ Marsh, Calum (2015-05-28). "Debug review: Hackers in space". National Post. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  17. The Toronto Star
    . Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  18. The Toronto Sun
    . Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  19. ^ King, Randall (2015-06-06). "Don't forget to rewind before taking this gem back to the video store". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2015-07-07.

External links

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