MIFF 2017 - Day 15

Otherlife

Ren Amari is the inventor of Otherlife, a piece of nanotechnology that implants memories into minds ala Total Recall. She's trying to find a way to get her brother out of the coma he's in, and is misusing the company resources to achieve her ends. Then it all goes wrong, someone dies, and her business partner does a deal with the government to drop charges in return for using the technology for virtual incarceration. The thriller element steps up from there. Anyone versed in SF will pick almost every plot beat, and it's not a perfect film, but it's an enjoyable ride. A solid entry to the "what is real" genre, unfortunately about two decades too late to really blow your mind.

The Untamed

Imagine David Cronenberg made a kitchen sink relationship drama after watching too much Japanese tentacle porn. And imagine it's way better than you could expect. This is weird, smart and surprising. Also really graphic. The basic plot is about a dysfunctional family who come into contact with an alien that's the embodiment of libido. And then we follow the chaos and destruction that unbridled lust causes. Not for the queasy or the prudish, but it's really good.