There are sci-fi films that rely on big effects and spectacle, and there are sci-fi films that rely primarily on an idea to stimulate the imagination of genre fans. Things Will Be Different clearly falls into the second category, but is no less worth seeing for puzzle fans.
The enigmatic science fiction of Things Will Be Different challenges you to think
Indie productions like Primer or Coherence have proven in the past that a big budget is not necessarily necessary to deliver convincing science fiction. The really exciting thought games take place in the audience’s brain anyway. And what better way to do that than with a game with time?
Watch the trailer for the sci-fi film Things Will Be Different
Things Will Be Different – Trailer (English) HD
Joseph (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy) are brother and sister and share not only DNA but also a penchant for crime. Because they are Bank robber siblingswho are doing shady things together. After the latest robbery, they flee to a safe place, which is more than just an abandoned house. After turning the hands of a grandfather clock and stepping through an inconspicuous door, they find themselves… in the same house. But in an earlier time. They obviously know what they are doing.
Here Joe and Sid wait until the greatest danger has passed. This way they can finally spend some time together again, which they have neglected recently because Sidney has had enough to do with her daughter and her job. The shock comes later: after the waiting period has expired time travel suddenly no longer works. Instead, they find a safe in which a voice on a tape recorder tells them to commit murder if they ever want to leave.
Things Will Be Different is brain work for sci-fi fans
What follows is a Blackmail across time boundariesThings Will Be Different reshuffles the cards of genre films like Looper and Butterfly Effect and soon lets its main characters join in the puzzle themselves, the longer they are stuck in the past. Is a sadistic villain playing his game with the two of them? Or does one of them ultimately want to cheat the other out of his share?
Things Will Be Different requires us to think in order to understand what is going on here. Instead of explaining the past sibling conflict or the future threat in a very clear way, the sci-fi film only feeds us small details that gradually create a bigger picture – scattered breadcrumbs along the way of time-traveling Hansel and GretelBut who is the witch or voice that keeps her in the house?
With a perimeter around the house, which the two prisoners cannot cross safely, an audio recorder converted into a time travel phone and a masked victim who is anything but defenseless, Things Will Be Different skillfully keeps its audience on the hook. With the many clues that are incomprehensible for a long time, you still have to be patient, because the majority of the Sci-fi mystery is only solved at the very end.
Mindgame: The wait and puzzle with the sci-fi film is worth it
If there are finally answers after 90 minutes, it was worth the effort for the emotional circular reasoning but definitely worth it. Even the title of the sci-fi film takes on a new meaning.
It is noticeable that Things Will Be Different was co-produced by The Endless duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson. It is no coincidence that Michael Felker worked as an editor for the two cult directors for a long time before making his own feature film debut here. Just like his colleagues, the Mindgame story far beyond the initially very manageable framework (of almost only one set) and understands that the human puzzles in the sci-fi context are often much more exciting than technical time travel explanations or big effects.
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How and where you can watch Things Will Be Different:
Pre-sales have already started: Things Will Be Different will be shown at the Fantasy Filmfest in September 2024: first in Berlin on September 9, 2024; then on September 16 in Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Hamburg and on September 20 in Frankfurt and Cologne.
Things Will Be Different does not yet have a German release in cinemas, home cinemas or streaming.