Overall: B+
Acting: A-
Writing: C
Story: B
Technical
aspects: B
Effects: B
Directed by:
Antonio Negret
Starring:
Edmund Entin
Gary Entin
Orlando Jones
Samantha Droke
Particular
trigger warnings: coerced suicide, self-harm
Passes the
Bechdel test: I don’t believe so
Seconds
Apart is about a pair of
identical twins, Jonah (Edmund Entin) and Seth (Gary Entin), who have a psychic
connection with each other that allows them to control people’s minds. The
brothers, to put it lightly, do not use this power for good. When they were
children they killed their babysitter; as teens, they’re doing a “project”
where they force people to kill others or themselves, so the brothers can film
them as they die. The people they control rarely seem to have any sense that
they’re being controlled, and rarely fight the illusions… instead they seem to
believe what they are doing is entirely normal. This “project” is apparently an
attempt by Jonah and Seth to experience some emotion that they believe they are
incapable of feeling. Their sadistic project is somewhat at odds with what
appears to be an idyllic home life in a beautiful house with almost
Stepford-esque parents.
Investigating
the deaths at the twins’ school is Detective Lampkin (Orlando Jones), a man
haunted by memories of the death of his wife in a house fire. The twins
frequently prey on these memories, trying to torment the detective.
Meanwhile,
a new girl named Eve (Samantha Droke) transfers to the school, and befriends
Jonah. This begins to drive a wedge between the brothers, as Jonah becomes more
interested in her, and wishes to drop the “project” with Seth.
I don’t
want to spoil the pseudo-“twist” to the ending; it’s not the most shocking out
there, and doesn’t change a lot about the plot itself, but I enjoyed it and
what it showed about the characters.
I
really enjoyed this movie, though there are some really valid criticisms. One
is that it’s a bit disjointed. That was distracting for my boyfriend when we
watched it, though I didn’t notice it much at the time. But just trying to
summarize it above, I’m reminded of it when I realize how much I didn’t
mention.
I’m not
sure how the detective jumps so easily to suspecting the twins. He gets some
anecdotal evidence from other students, and they play some conceited mindgames
with him, but it still seems like a pretty big jump for him to make.
Some of the “tension” was obviously
manufactured, for example with their murder of their babysitter being hinted at
several times throughout the film as if it should be a shock when it’s
revealed… but because they’ve already been shown killing people, that’s the
obvious conclusion, devoid of any real suspense or surprise.
There’s a
lot made of the “it” that the brothers hope to feel, but it’s left somewhat to
interpretation what “it” is. (Uh… unless I missed it somehow?) It could be
fear, as that’s what they believe they should experience at witnessing death,
but if they want to feel fear, I’m unsure why they don’t do anything to put themselves in danger. I don’t want to immediately
blame poor writing for that – it could be a deliberate choice to leave it to
audience interpretation. But honestly, it mostly just leaves me confused more
than thoughtful.
The
introduction of Eve as the plot device to force the brothers apart is a bit
cliché as well… the “woman causes divide between two close male friends/family
members” isn’t exactly an original trope, and she didn’t have much
characterization outside of that.
But the
movie was very well-acted, including the rather surprising choice of Orlando
Jones as the detective, and the chemistry between the brothers in particular
was wonderful. The “twist” at the end is pretty creepy and well handled, in my
opinion. I liked that the individual characters (with the unfortunate exception
of Eve) were all quite complex – Detective Lampkin’s personal traumas didn’t
feel too overstated, and gave him enough dimension to be interesting, and the twins’
relationship with each other vs. their relationships with the rest of the world
contrast really well.
The world
of the movie itself felt quite surreal, somehow removed from the real world. It
felt fantasy-ish, something like the stylized settings in Willard or even in Edward Scissorhands, possibly because of the Victorian
semi-Gothic aesthetics of the film. I enjoyed that, though it might not be to
everyone’s liking.
There is
less “horror” to the film in some ways. There are some scares in terms of the
murders, but much of the horror comes from knowing what the brothers are
capable of, not necessarily just what’s happening on screen. There’s a lot more
focus on the drama between the characters and suspense. Again, I enjoyed that,
but that may be disappointing if you aren’t expecting interpersonal drama and twisted
psychology. Objectively this probably wouldn’t get a B+, but that’s what I give
it for my personal enjoyment.
