When a film opens with a search and rescue mission, alongside a brief family backstory, law of averages dictate that it’s going to be one bumpy ride before an equilibrium is restored. Reverting back to Carpenter’s classic The Thing, borrowing aspects present in Pandorm with touches of Scott’s Prometheus, Infini is a guaranteed sci-fi crowd pleaser.
In this advanced universe, the powers that be have created an advanced technology known as Slipstreaming; the ability to teleport through time and space in the hope of finding more resources and hopefully habitual areas for the human race to continue to survive. New recruit Carmichael (Daniel MacPherson) joins a squad of highly trained missionaries sent out to a deserted mining facility in search of any survivors after an unexplained attack.
Alarm bells sound and emergency lockdowns automatically spring into action as an infected team member slipstreams back causing an immediate quarantine. As adrenaline runs high, Carmichael transports directly into the thick of an unknown, highly-contagious environment, though he soon discovers that this is no ordinary virus. This hallucinogenic induced disease consumes the body, mind and your soul, resulting in a primal urge to kill and destroy everyone around you, even those you love.
In a similar vein to Event Horizon, Infini offers a gritty, eerie horror that lurks beneath the surface, which becomes an every man for himself tale. Packing quite a punch, complete with plenty of profanities, this narrative becomes a brutal battle between body and mind. Each character struggles with finding that shred of humanity that will fight against the parasite within, or be utterly consumed by weakness. We are given an insight into why this substance behaves the way it does as our main protagonist stumbles into a research lab, though this only makes up a small portion of the film – yet delving deeper and exploring the unknown would benefit this feature, instead of overloading us with solid but repetitive material that we have all seen before.
Nevertheless, MacPherson brings a fierce performance to his abandoned Carmichael, completely in control in parts, and yet utterly deranged at the touch of a switch. In the main, this fairly unknown cast holds this plot together, clutching onto their last remaining thread of humour, in this otherwise doomed scenario. Undoubtedly, Infini adopts many sci-fi tropes that any such fan will pick up on, but director Shane Abbess has successfully created a worthy, stand-alone film. Leaving us with a chilling and ambiguous ending, this film will play in your thoughts for days after.
