I went into this one blind, and I probably should have known just a few things first. Doors is an Indie sci-fi anthology sort of film that comes in three different parts. (The parts bit is the thing I should have known going in.) Doors tells the story of millions of doors arriving on earth, and the subsequent disappearance of over half of the people on the planet. Each part is crafted by three different directors, but the over-all creative vision for the film is by Saman Kesh. Each of the three parts have their own feel and vibe, but they are all so tightly integrated into this larger door story that you might find it jarring (like I did) if you don’t know going in. But personally? I was hooked from minute one. I really had a good time with this one, and anthologies are not my thing at all. Apparently you need to sneak them by me! hahah. Alright, let’s do this one: Doors Movie Sci-Fi Anthology Recommendation.
But should you watch it? Well, I already told you I liked it … so, yeah?! Duh. Look, it’s one part Breakfast Club, it’s one part Southern Reach Trilogy, and it’s one part Host. And all of it really does seem to work pretty well together. Sure, there are some bumps and bruises along the way. But overall, I totally think it’s worth your time. You can watch it on Youtube and Vudu.
Overview of Doors
The first section of Doors is about the arrival of the doors. We join kids in class as they are working on a test. All the normal cliche school shenanigans are here on display. A teach that is just beyond done. Jack-ass kids, and butt kiss students determined to be the teacher’s pet. But when their locked away cell phones start going absolutely blitzkrieg nuts then things start getting interesting. The teacher gets a call, and it’s pretty obvious that things definitely are not okay. When their teacher leaves and never comes back is when things start to turn dark.
The second section of Doors was the most ominous. It would appear that after a couple weeks of occupying earth, mankind has created a program for studying the doors. The program is called Knockers, wherein a team of three goes through a door as they research as much about the door as they can in 12 minutes. But seems like this might be a poor idea, as everything that can go wrong with the Knocker team we follow.
The third section of Doors might just be my favorite in that it follows a scientific researcher who has discovered a door, and, oh, by the way, he’s chosen not to notify authorities about it. Lamaj, the researcher, is just trying to figure out how to effectively communicate with the doors and learn from them. And he does well with it, until he invites a few other people to come and see what he is learning from the doors.
And then there is one final zoom meeting section that I am not exactly sure what to do with. Is that a bonus section? I liken it to the movie Host, if you’ve seen that. Sort of a Zoom meeting alien encounter sort of experience.
What Do We Make of Doors?
It’s probably better if you go in thinking of Doors like they are short films with a common thread. Indie, low budget, interesting ideas, a few clever special effects, but mainly it’s all ideas and theorizing. Which, is how we roll here at THiNC., ideas and theorizing is our jam. I really enjoyed how the first section of the film brought the aliens to life in various ways. The magnetic filaments reaching off the doors in section one just screamed ominousness. And there were moments where we realize that the real terror in these shorts aren’t the doors, but actually ourselves. Those were the moments I was most interested in. I don’t know. I enjoyed it. But maybe it caught me on an optimistic day. Who knows. What did you guys think of it?
Edited by: CY