DEBUG (2014)

Debug (2014)
Directed by: David Hewlett
Written by: David Hewlett
Starring: Adam Butcher, Allison Brennan, Jason Momoa, Nathaniel Bacon

DEBUG (2014)
Written and directed by David Hewlett

A group of young criminal hackers sentenced to government service are taken out to a malfunctioning spaceship to rid the ship’s system of viruses and to reboot it back into working order. When they arrive at the empty spaceship, veteran criminal hacker Kaida discovers that the security system on the ship has become self-aware and rogue, and will do anything to ensure that its new occupants will not leave the spaceship alive.

Take the space tension of Event Horizon, sentient computer HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and the homicidal Red Queen security system from Resident Evil, and you have David Hewlett’s sci-fi thriller DEBUG. The film doesn’t waste time on setting the tone, with a statement of an opening scene that will ensure the audience are familiar with the nature of Jason Momoa’s character, Iam, before they discover just exactly who he is. This curious opening is followed by the main story, where the viewer is introducted to the hackers sent to clean, fix and reboot the ship’s system. Keeping the momentum flowing, it doesn’t take long before Iam makes itself known.

Aesthetically, the film does a remarkable job with its clinical white walls, bright white lights and sterile corridors. The holograms which appear on various screens in the facilities onboard the ship look every bit the part of a welcoming craft, that is until its true plans are revealed. Using technology to lull the characters into a false sense of security works well for the film, with the human’s technology turning against them. We need not have to look far for clear inspirations for DEBUG. The fascination with cyber technology and the fear of self aware artificial intelligence always seems to go hand-in-hand with these types of futuristic sci-fi thrillers and works well here as an idea, but unfortunately is not executed as well as it could be with a weak script and screenplay.

The characters onboard the broken ship are all pretty immature, right up to their boss, a glorified probation worker, played by Adrian Holmes. The petty bickering back-and-forth between the hackers is pretty tiresome, but it isn’t long before Holmes and the outcast veteran character Kaida (Jeananne Goossen) are given a meatier storyline, all the while being manipulated and watched by menace rogue program, Iam, played by Jason Momoa who starred as Conan the Barbarian in the recent remake. These three characters develop the action part of the storyline with Goossen’s Kaida providing the ass-kicking heroine the story requires.

Whilst frightening in style, similar to the vibe of Vincenzo Natali’s CUBE which director David Hewlett starred in, DEBUG features very little blood. However, the prospects which the movie throws up, most of which rely on its isolated setting in space, is enough to give you the chills.

DEBUG does a good job at paying homage to sci-fi thrillers of the past, but unfortunately doesn’t quite work as a standalone film with a story to tell of its own. Stylistically, the film is effective with its digital HUD displays, holograms and futuristic ship, but the story struggles to pack the knockout punch its looking for.

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