The Drift (2014) Reviews

• Low budget but impressive result

  eamole-13-6136952016-03-17

  On reading the other reviews I felt compelled to add a more positive note to the movie. Of primary importance I think to bear in mind when reviewing the movie is the ultra low budget of $5000. It must limit what can be achieved with set design, sfx, vfx, production, etc. Also, this film is a first effort of the production company, and was a community project, with cast and crew donating their time. That said, this movie is an astounding success, given the constraints. I have seen much worse results with 50+ times the budget, and the backing of a studio. The script was a good starting point, with reasonable story lines, subplots, and suspenseful moments. It might have made the primary plot a bit clearer, and seemed to rush over some critical points, but the dialogue was well written, and handled well by the cast. The acting, while variable at times, was also engaging, given that many of the cast are having their debut, and most have less than 5 acting credits. The camera work was at times poorly lit, but it did create a claustrophobic atmosphere, which worked well. The sfx/vfx and set design deserve special mention considering again the budgetary constraints. When I think back to the days of the immensely successful Blakes 7 and the cardboard sets that wobbled at every possible opportunity, I think this movie creates a credible world, and visually was well designed. The musical department must take a bow for the awards they have already received. The music worked well, was non intrusive, and fit the scenes perfectly. One can ignore some of the weaknesses, which might easily have been overcome with a bit of extra effort, but they do not hamper your enjoyment of the movie. The implementation of ZeroG and the vacuum of space might have been considered a bit more (eg the coffee maker), but its not a deal breaker. Also some of the "engineering" was a bit "Blue Peter" or "Sesame Street": a bit too DIY compared to the rest of the production, but its forgivable. All in all, I think this was an amazing first effort, and well worth a watch. Its the kind of movie you could well enjoy with a few mates and some popcorn...if only to view it critically, find the flaws, and then consider how in Heaven you could even start to produce it yourself. Congratulation to the cast, crew and production team...an excellent result!

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• Most bang for the buck

  supertech20072016-04-27

  To all the critics that are bashing the film... I'd love to see you produce anything half as good with 10X the budget! This film cost 5000 pounds to make and looks about as good as the original Robocop. So before you go bashing it, think about how little they had to work with,and how good it was considering. If you look back on the original Robocop, you may find the CGI to be quite lacking as well and slam it all over the place. However, if you think movies like that still deserve their place in history as ground breaking low budget independent film, then I think you will like this too. I usually don't bother writing reviews here for movies, but when I saw people criticizing this movie because it wasn't full on Hollywood, I felt I had to say something.

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• Talented low budget movie

  johnkathbuckley2016-01-09

  I am always impressed by people's dedication and talent producing low budget movies such as these. They are often stepping stones to greater things. The script tried hard to be engaging with sub plots maintaining interest. It's difficult for low budget movies to get special effects and props right, the film tries to get round this by dim lighting and quick shots. Not particularly successfully. I liked the acting, and thought the captain's calmness worked well, inspiring confidence in stressful circumstances. At least I would have liked to work for him. Some of the characters and plot bordered on being corny but all to be taken with a pinch of salt. The zombie type characters needed more character development, perhaps! The incidental music was appropriate and well produced. There was no bad language or sleazy sex scenes! The violence was gruesome at times but nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, an entertaining romp.

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• £5,000

  are131628102015-01-16

  OK so at college we got to watch this film and as my tutor knew Vin Hawke who played Ace in the film we got to ask him some questions about the film and etc. Firstly about the film the story wasn't fully clear at the start and it took quite a while to absorb it. Shot change that was plain too fast when no action was happening had contributed to that. Some of the acting by characters such as the ships captain lacked development and he didn't have the charisma of what would be perceived a Captain would have of commanding and leadership and so there was little of that. Victoria Hopkins who played Scarlett was the best actress and it was interesting how her characters involvement in the plot was so relevant. So overall the start was slightly confusing but towards the middle and end we as the audience began to understand the plot. With the end leaving a cliff hanger it's clear there is an intention for a sequel, but lets hope next time the CGI is a better spent on.

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• The Drift: Amazing for what they had to work with

  Platypuschow2017-12-20

  Backyard Productions have been around since 1994, they made uber low budget shorts and parodys and had never made a feature film until The Drift. On a budget of just £5000 an attempt to make a scifi movie on this scale was arguably foolish but they have knocked it out of the park. For it's budget the film looks outstanding, the score is brilliant and most of the unknown cast do a decent enough job. Telling the story of a crew venturing into a space graveyard but becoming under attack from angry cannibal survivors. Okay, the story is a bit muddled in places and ultimately this British movie is badly flawed but it can't be denied that what they have acomplished here is nothing short out outstanding. Backyard Productions need to try this again with a bigger budget as The Drift shows that these people know how to make movies. The Good: Looks amazing for its budget Well edited Beautifully scored The Bad: A lot is left unexplained Action scenes are really quite poor Things I Learnt From This Movie: Apparently in space people CAN hear you scream

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