Into the Abyss

Writer/director David Bartlett’s Into the Abyss throws young cadets into a crisis no classroom can simulate. When life and death are on the line, there’s a big difference between running a training exercise and surviving the real thing.

A group of cadets aboard the DST Shelly is on a deep space training mission under Admiral Thompson (Mary Thompson) when what’s supposed to be a routine exercise turns into the real thing—an enemy ship drops out of lightspeed and opens fire. Cadet O’Brien (Naomi Oppenheim) and the crew engage the attacker and, putting their training to good use, take the enemy down. Before our heroes can take a breath, more ships emerge from the darkness. With missiles incoming and nowhere left to run, they punch in the faster-than-light coordinates and jump, only to find themselves lost in the abyss of space.

“With missiles incoming and nowhere left to run, they punch in the faster-than-light coordinates and jump…”

Bartlett wrote the script in half a day, ran three rehearsals, and shot the whole thing in one week using existing Star Trek sets at the Space Command Studios lot, where he works as a producer with Marc and Elaine Zicree. The production crew was small, to say the least — three actors, one gaffer, one dolly grip, and Bartlett himself operating the camera. All of it was done in two days. The visual effects took three months, then the sound design, music, and 5.1 mix were wrapped in six days. From concept to delivery, this was guerrilla filmmaking at its finest.

Running at 2 and a half minutes, it’s hard to give a fair assessment as the story flies by fast, but I liked the story. As a way to show what can be done with starships and science fiction, Into the Abyss delivers a quick space battle and proves that sci-fi is not only for the big studios, and I’m talking to you, Starfleet Academy. Let’s see what we can do with a proper story and at least twelve more minutes.

Into the Abyss can be streamed on YouTube.