Nothing jumps out in a "gotcha" moment; there are no rotted corpses or bloody walls or even ghostly little kids with blank stares. Yet the trailer for the indie ghost flick Phasma Ex Machina (embedded after the jump) is incredibly eerie.The film, written and directed by Matt Osterman, centers around the main character of Cody (Sasha Andreev shown here), who is raising his younger brother after their parents' death, when he decides to create a machine that will act as a conduit to the other side. Enlisting the help of electrical engineer Tom (Matthew Feeney), Cody is successful, but when the dead returns, they learn there are
repercussions to connecting life and the afterlife.
What makes the trailer so intriguing, and in effect creepy, is just how calm everyone seems when the experiment works and the dead begin to return. Even the ghosts, in the glimpses we get of them, appear somewhat average, which makes things even freakier as you wait for them to start sucking down souls or something. Plus, the grief that wracks the characters in the trailer, and motivates them to fight the rules of death, seem achingly real here.
Trailer aside, the other refreshing aspect of Phasma is the Web site, which shows the filmmakers did their homework in researching the "science" of the paranormal. What's more, the site has been posting interviews with respected theorists like Loyd Auerbach, and has a Ghost Hunt Store where you can pick up gear.
I can't say how good this film really is, but based on the two-minute preview and the thorough Web site, I'm excited to see more.
Phasma Ex Machina Trailer from Phasma Ex Machina on Vimeo.