Rent Parallel (2018)

Crazy sci-fi ride - Parallel review by Alphaville

Four software designers find a portal to alternative universes. Fortunately they’re intelligent young people and not the usual nerdy teenagers you get in too many American films, so it’s fun to watch as they explore the possibilities.

Isaac Ezban is making a name for himself with intelligent, cinematic sci-fi movies that look good and make you think. He directs this with pace, verve and real style.

The plot spirals off in so many directions that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what’s going on, but it’s both grounded and silly enough to carry it off. We also know, from a perfectly pitched pre-titles sequence, that it’s not all going to be sweetness and light. When you think about it afterwards, that tense, puzzling pre-titles sequence is the one that will stay with you. Four stars? Yes, it’s crazy, but there’s never a dull moment and how many films can you say that about these days?

Average SciFi Thriller - Parallel review by GI

An interesting variation on the theme of 'Are we alone in the Universe?' although here it's not aliens but the idea of multiverses. The idea is certainly clever but such a shame that the character motivations are firmly grounded in the materialistic, entitled world of the 21st century. Four friends living in an old rented house discover in the attic a portal that allows access to an alternate Universe. There everything is the same with little deviations which allows the four to exploit artistic and technological developments in the alternate world by making money in their real world. This all develops into greed and eventually murder and there's guns and violence. What a shame that the centre of the narrative becomes all about money rather than exploration. This turns the film into a fairly routine thriller with a degree of complexity, indeed keeping track of who's in which universe can tax the brain on occasion. Average stuff.

Well Thought Out - Parallel review by SpecOfSand

Good individual performances from the main characters but there’s always a weak link, someone not fully onboard & of course the greedy one.   We enjoyed the twists & turns but felt there could have been more time spent exploring, showing what the characters got up to when they went through the mirror.  I am still trying to working out who the woman was at the very beginning & what she was up to?   I’ll get it soon.   Worth renting.