Catalyst is the feature film debut of writer-director Chris Folkens. The sci-fi thriller begins when Alek (Michael Roark) enters a church intent on killing the priest who abused him as a child. After running from the scene, he is kidnapped by people in masks and wakes up in a cell with six other people. Each person only has fragments of how they got there, with a woman’s voice saying specific phrases standing out.
After their grogginess wears off, Alek, Mo (Umar Khan), Castor (David Bianchi), Matt (Chris Michael Wood), Kevin (Noel Gugliemi), Darren (Jermaine Love), and Patrick (Patrick Kilpatrick) try to figure out why they are all trapped here. Adding pressure to their already precarious dilemma is that the guards tell them to “find the parasite” within 60 minutes. The vagueness of this phrase, coupled with the men’s violent tendencies, leads to a volatile situation being even more so. Is there a way out, or will these men tear each other apart?
Catalyst has a lot on its mind. Alek is the audience surrogate, sensing a new path forward but cannot quite figure out what that is. This angle keeps intrigue and, by extension, audience engagement high. To expound more on the themes would spoil several of the twists and turns the story takes. However, Folkens’s views on the nature of violence and change hit all the notes.
“…kidnapped by people in masks and wakes up in a cell with six other people.”
Well, mostly, that is. There’s a lingering question about why Alek was even chosen, given certain choices he made that are revealed closer to the end. It seems at odds with the central theme and why these seven men were selected. But this quibble really only takes hold as the film draws to an end and does not negate the overall impact too much.
Folkens’s directing style seems taken from indie sci-fi circa 2004. The almost all-black leather costumes of the guards, the lighting, and especially the editing scream that in-your-face, whiz-bang directing of the era. Think of those early adverts about how pirating movies is a crime, and you’ve got the picture. Now, don’t think this is a bad thing, as there is an earnestness to the style, though that might be nostalgia speaking.
Catalyst has a lot to say and does so most entertainingly. The cast is uniformly strong, and the ending is thought-provoking. Yes, the fact that Alek is among these people is odd, but it proves not to be much of an issue. The throwback directing style may throw some for a loop at first, but the movie is constant and finds its own rhythm in this way.
For more information about Catalyst, visit the official Mystic Film site.
"…has a lot to say and does so most entertainingly."
