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Released By: Shout! Factory
Released On: August 18, 2015
Director: Chad Archibald, Matt Wiele
Cast: Julian Richings, Justin Darmanin, Lisa Houle
Year: 2014
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The Movie:
William Cassidy (Julian Richings), is a man with some life experience. Almost 40 years ago, he was touched by alien beings, and they've never quite left. Known to fall into walking coma-like states beyond his control, William says and does things that he has no recollection of. He's afraid to sleep for more than a couple of hours every few days to minimize these attacks, and unfortunately, there's no way out...Bill can't get the aliens to leave him alone, and suicide doesn't seem to work for him. Instead, he more or less falls off the grid, his only link with the real world taking the form of a website in which he advertises his experiences with a a heaping help of doomy and gloomy "The End Is Nigh" blogging under the handle Spider Nevi.
When a soon-to-be-thankful and then not-so-thankful documentary filmmaker named Joe Sullivan receives an unheard of email invitation from "Spider Nevi", he races to the location provided, anxious to meet the legendary man on the eve of a massive solar flare...a "mass ejection". Poor Bill Cassidy realizes that he must have sent the invite during one of his fugue states, but decides to make the best of it; giving Joe plenty of talking head material. But as Joe wonders aloud if Cassidy has really seen the things he claims to have seen, the Mass Ejection begins, bring forth some very hostile visitors from the skies.
They aren't the only hostile forces in the area, however; an evil government scientist by the name of Dr. Tobin (Lisa Houle) has also arrived with a crack tactical team determined to capture Cassidy and learn his secrets; and perhaps become acquainted with the descendants of a creature that a secret agency discovered and dismembered decades ago. Getting a hold of Cassidy after the dust has settled is only part of the problem, though, and Tobin and her team must piece together the puzzle from Cassidy's reluctant, tortured answers, Sullivan's documentary tape, and the evidence from a body count that seems to be increasing rapidly.
It's always nice to say good things about a film from my native country of Canada, and Ejecta starts off with some great promise. A remote location in the woods (Collingwood, from what I understand) and a sinister premise provide some great atmosphere, and Richings, with his unique angular features and distinguished voice make the talking head documentary footage interesting and fun to watch. The use of non-linear narrative, in which Tobin has to keep referring back to the documentary tape, and the absence of some key players in the present moment keeps the momentum going, and Ejecta manages to show just enough in the effects department that it hints at more without betraying budgetary limitations. Lisa Houle (who was quite good in Bruce McDonald's Pontypool) is a bit of a weak link here, overacting with reckless abandon, while her supporting actor co-stars do a decent job of keeping their own performances reigned in.
That's Ejecta in the first half, a tastefully eerie extraterrestrial tale. Ejecta in the second half, however, is something quite different. As the contents of the documentary tape are revealed and things start getting chaotic, the directors have unfortunately chosen to go the cheap way instead of maintaining the integrity of the film. The score is suddenly extremely intrusive and first-person shooter, the camera footage is suddenly Blair Witch, and not just because it's got a "found footage" look, really, it's just like the Blair Witch Project, and the horror element becomes more about the jump scare. By the time Ejecta reaches its conclusion in all its black contact lens glory, it throws its strong suits out and scrapes poorly to a close, leaving little memory of how enjoyable it was when it started.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Ejecta comes to blu-ray from Shout! in a 2.00:1 transfer that is solid. Despite the range of source materials, manufactured and otherwise, the picture remains clear and sharply detailed, with strong blacks and impressive contrast during the darkest of scenes. Despite that it leans towards a cold, blue look, colours are bright and dynamic when they do appear, and no visual artifacts appear to ruin the visual enjoyment.
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is well-used for the most part, with liberal use of the surrounds...sometimes even where surround effects don't make too much sense...and this most definitely becomes apparent in the second half of the film, when the score becomes overwhelmingly immersive, and the crazed screams of the aliens get annoying. Dialogue is nicely balanced and clear for the most part, but the loudness war that occurs in the latter half of the film will cause a little remote fiddling.
A Trailer for the film is the lone extra on the disc.
The Final Word:
A disappointing second half is what will stand out when looking back on Ejecta, but there are some mighty fine performances and decent filmmaking to be found as well. For those who like the film, this is a good presentation, even though it is lacking in supplements.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
