Man Underground (2016)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring George Basil, Pamela Fila, Andy Rocco
Directed by Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine
Screened at Fantasia 2016
Co-directors Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine take the conspiracy theory film and give it a quirky edge in Man Underground, leveling the playing field when the question is asked: “Are we alone in the universe?” (cue thought-provoking music).
Humor dissolves into frightening possibility when logician Willem Koda (Basil) decides he’d like to document his journey on the road to the existence of otherworldly visitors, and he takes this project very seriously. Not alone in his desire to film, he employs friends Todd (Rocco) and Flossie (Fila) to tag along and aid in this undertaking, which starts off innocently enough with Willem’s thinking but very quickly takes a downward spiral into dangerous infatuation. Proving oneself’s half-cocked theory can be a stretch all in one frame, but to drag both friends down with you… well, that’s a feat all in itself.
His previous job working for the government has propelled his already streamlined introspection to a new height, and his supposed prior encounter with the little green men has him dogged and determined to prove it all wasn’t just a hoax.
Man Underground on the surface could be loosely described as a sci-fi pic, but its strong suit is its close-up character insistence, using a blend of left-field comedic instances and sharp slices of human element… and here I was thinking I was checking out a movie that would had some backwoods hillbilly ranting about getting probed on a slab and bugs implanted in his skull. Instead, Borowiec and Marine opted to go the route of the dramedy, with a backbone of UFO indication. Hey, even those looking for a little potential romance might be entertained, as both Willem and Flossie have that “unwritten thing” about them – only problem is they’re both so into what they’re doing that it really never gets past the breach point. Basil knocks his performance out of the park, playing a man who could have trouble getting out of his own way, and the portrayal has many layers that are amusing to see peeled back.
Overall, I could see hardcore sci-fi fans turning a blind eye at this film, but it’s a fairly fun watch and is at least worth a single peek. Who knows? Maybe these space creatures have a thing for making love connections as well.
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Film
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