Filled with promise of strange visuals, Exodus tries for a trippy Stephen King’s The Drawing of the Three riff, but comes up empty-handed. A frantic young man named Connor (Jimi Stanton) wanders around the desert in search of a mythical door he saw in a VHS tape. The production value is high, but the plot runs in circles as it spins its wheels. I’d love to see Jimi Stanton with better material. Director Logan Stone doesn’t allow the audience in on the secret. There is so much time spent in pursuit of this mysterious door, and little-to-no payoff for any of it in the end.
The script meanders along with setting up intrigue, leaving the audience as hopelessly lost as the film’s characters. It gives this talented cast nothing to do beyond freak out, cry, and break down. Rinse and repeat. By far, the film’s most promising element is what lies beyond the door itself. The amount of time devoted to this mystery deserved an effects budget calling for some dazzling visuals. Perhaps I just missed the meaning behind it all, but Exodus left me feeling cold. Gravitas brings Exodus direct-to-VOD on Friday, March 19th.
