Movie spotlight
Chronic
CHRONIC is an experimental narrative about a young woman who began mutilating herself as a girl to cope with a traumatic mid-western childhood. The lush optically-printed scenes take Gretchen’s point of view from her punk youth, a stay in a mental hospital, and her release into the big city. Scripted scenes are inter-spliced with documentary and found footage, illustrating the culture Gretchen lives in, her inner world and relationships from her birth to her final day.
Insights
Plot Summary
In a bleak, near-future Los Angeles, a detective investigates a series of gruesome murders where the victims appear to have died of old age. As he delves deeper, he uncovers a conspiracy involving a secret government project that accelerates aging through a deadly virus. The detective must race against time to stop the spread of the virus and expose the truth before he succumbs to it himself.
Critical Reception
Chronic was not widely released and received generally negative reviews from the few critics who saw it. It is largely considered a low-budget, forgettable entry in the thriller genre, often criticized for its uninspired plot and poor execution.
What Reviewers Say
The film suffers from a predictable plot and a lack of suspense.
The acting is uninspired and fails to elevate the weak material.
Visuals and special effects are rudimentary, contributing to its low-budget feel.
Google audience: Audience reception is largely unavailable due to the film's limited release. However, any available feedback points to dissatisfaction with the confusing storyline and lack of engaging elements.
Fun Fact
The film was shot in Los Angeles and aimed for a gritty, dystopian aesthetic that is characteristic of many late 1990s sci-fi thrillers.
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