You gotta make your movie. Just do it. Not only does writer/director/star Nevan Wilmhoff have the passion to make a movie, but he also makes a genre film to boot in Recall 126.
It’s 2054, and Dr. Nick Walker (Nevan Wilmhoff), a senior scientist at the Walinski Corporation, was murdered. The prime suspect is his clone, October One. Detective Wallace (Henry Crawford) conducts his investigation with the forensic analyst (Bradley Beck), and the clues lead them to the Walinski Corporation.
Fearful of interference from the police, CEO Howard Walinski unleashes his clones to hunt down October One. The actual problem is that October One has developed a high form of sentience. He’s been on the run for quite some time and has learned to blend in by finding odd jobs as he goes.
Knowing he can’t hide forever, October One must infiltrate Walinski Corp and stop Howard Walinski from creating a legion of slave clones.
The first thing you’ll notice about Recall 126 is that every actor is way too young to play their real-life counterparts. My guess is that the cast and crew are likely in high school and college.
“…a legion of slave clones.”
What I love about Recall 126 is that it’s willing to play with the science fiction genre in a way that recent million-dollar productions have failed to do. The issue with cloning is that if you create a brand new person/clone, what kind of rights do they have? Are they eligible for basic human rights like freedom, or are they mere products created by a corporation and, therefore, slaves? Filmmaker Wilmhoff explores these questions and ideas while wrapping up a crime thriller.
Recall 126 falls squarely into the category of low-budget indie thriller. Minimal props to pass as a futuristic tale, along with good use of old DOS computer tech to give it a retro-future feel. What I admire about Wilmhoff’s production is that he does whatever it takes to take almost every part of it to the next level.
There are many examples of elevating an indie production, but I will point out the sound and ADR. Many of the film’s scenes occur outdoors; any filmmaker knows they won’t capture clean dialogue. I feel dumb pointing this out, but I’ve seen my share of indie films that just don’t bother to fix audio. The dialogue and ADR are flawless. There’s even a moment with a young man in a tie-dye shirt—I think they may have dubbed his lines with another actor’s deep, mysterious voice.
Recall 126 is the kind of scrappy, indie sci-fi thriller that gives me hope for the future of genre filmmaking. Not only did Wilmhoff muster enough passion to make his movie, but he also went above and beyond what his budget allowed him to do. To be fair, this is not Kubrick. It’s a lo-fi, high-concept reminder that passion and creativity can outmatch a million-dollar budget any day of the week.
"…Gives me hope for the future of genre filmmaking."
