Reflect

NOW ON VOD! A cosmic powerhouse goes a concept too far in writer/director Dana Kippel’s spiritual sci-fi shindig Reflect. Summer (Dana Kippel) needs to get away from it all, in this case, Los Angeles and her cocky boyfriend James (Corey Brooks). She has planned a girl’s trip to Sedona to participate in a spiritual obstacle course with a cash prize for the winner. Her friend Annie (Marissa Patterson) lives with her mom and works in a pet store so that she can use the money. Their bud, Katie (Grace Patterson), is richer than God and doesn’t need the money, but she would love an excuse to be away from coverage to shed a recently dropped fellah. Nia (Ariana Brown) invited Liz (Jadelyn Breier) along, even though Summer is sore as she thinks Liz is after James.

“…a girl’s trip to Sedona to participate in a spiritual obstacle course with a cash prize for the winner.”

After a seven-hour drive to the red rocks of Sedona, the girls begin the challenge with the nutty Hermes (Joe Filippone) guiding their way. They have no phone service, they are fasting, and they are bitchy as the journey goes into some dark places. Another goofy spiritual guide, Inanna (Campbell Crates), introduces the group to the interdimensional power of Sedona’s famed vortexes. Things start getting very trippy, with an encounter with a man (Tim Sauer) and a woman (Cheree Ramon) hiking and getting into a face-melting frequency. As their consciousness expands, group members are stalked by a shadowy cloaked figure. It’s all part of the Game Of Life, the #1 game show in the universe. Except this episode is hosted for the first time by Beale (Ryan Jack Connell). His dad (Robert Enriquez) is forcing him, and Beale isn’t worth a flip.

If this sounds like a pretty good movie, you don’t even know the half of it. Kippel took an ambitious swing into the weirdie stars and hit a moon or two. The result is an outstanding movie most of the time. The lead actresses are all awesome. They all get to show their spectrum from bubbly jovial to on-the-edge extremes. Kippel’s fantastic dialogue and character-building help a lot; the “girl talk” is of the highest caliber. The production, like its cast, keeps hitting the marks.