Movie: Merge – 2025

Premiere: Oct 29, 2025
Country of origin: UK
Directed by: Various
Written by: Various
Distributed by: Cine Circle
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Anthology
Runtime: 77min
Starring: Various 

Merge is a sci-fi anthology film exploring a common theme of future technology and its effect on humanity. The shorts span from 2021 to 2023 and come from different countries such as Austria, UK and USA. Rather than feeling commissioned as one unified project, it feels like a carefully gathered collection that fits together naturally. I would love to see more anthology films like this.

One thing I noticed right away was the lack of an opening title card. The film simply starts with the first short, which felt a bit strange.

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01 – Angst (2021, Austria)
Director and Writer: Béla Baptiste
Length: 10 minutes
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11775300

 

This short hooks you immediately with a world that appears perfect on the surface. Beneath that utopian look, something feels wrong. The use of digital backgrounds creates an uncanny atmosphere that supports the story very well. In just ten minutes, it explores how fragile perfection really is and leaves behind a quiet unease that lingers after it ends.

 

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02 – Soulmate (2023, UK)
Director and Writer: Richard Fenwick
Length: 15 minutes
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16310522

We follow Anna, who works at a digital social platform company called “Synaptic – Beyond AI”. She becomes increasingly involved in the virtual world, to the point where it starts affecting her real life. The storytelling is rich and believable, showing a future that feels very close to what we already have today. Platforms like Second Life comes to mind.
 

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03 – When Unfettered (2023, USA)
Director and Writer: Derek Franzese
Length: 12 minutes
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18271646 

This one hit me the hardest. We follow Ash, an AI caregiver for an elderly man. After his death, his daughters no longer want her around. The short raises classic questions about artificial intelligence. Do AI feel? Do they dream? It echoes themes explored by Philip K. Dick.

There are subtle Blade Runner vibes, mostly through the music, while the visual tone feels lighter and reminded me of Detroit: Become Human. The acting is strong and the story is emotionally grounded. It is unfortunately a bit short, but I would absolutely love to see this expanded into a full-length movie.

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04 – The First Time I Never Met You (2024, UK)
Director and Writer: Eric Kole
Length: 14 minutes
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14253218

John has a loving family but is completely consumed by work. Through experiments involving flowers, he finds himself traveling back in time. The reasons are unclear at first, which adds to the emotional weight. This is a tragic and thoughtful story about choices people dream of making but never truly can. It leaves you questioning whether changing the past is something we should ever attempt. Well made. This short could also work very well as a full-length film.

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05 – Subscribed (2022, USA)
Director: Diana Porter
Writer: Mikel J. Wisler
Length: 10 minutes 
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15286106

This short opens like a commercial for an AI assistant company called “Vitalus”. We follow Carol, who is isolated in her home due to quarantine. What starts as helpful AI assistance slowly becomes something more unsettling. What might be the reason?

With real-world AI assistants like Siri, ChatGPT, Gemnie, Grok and more already being part of daily life, this short feels uncomfortably realistic. There was no title card at the beginning, which initially confused me. I first thought the short was called Vitalus. Later I discovered the actual title is Subscribed. The realism here is what makes it scary. An interesting detail is that the director Diana Porter also plays the lead role. 

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06 – The Man Behind the Machine (2023, UK)
Director and Writer: Dalano Barnes
Length: 15 minutes
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21249986

 Another AI-focused story, this one follows an older second-hand shop dealer whose AI assistant is suddenly taken away. The assistant is one of the first hundred of its kind. The story asks familiar but still powerful questions. Do AI have feelings or is it all just programming?

The short moves quickly and ends almost too soon, but the idea is strong. Watching AI struggle with reality always raises the question of what reality even means. 

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Overall Impressions

All of the shorts are well made. Some have higher production value than others, but none felt weak or careless. My favorite was When Unfettered because it feels grounded in a reality that is already forming around us.

 

What really stands out across the collection is how little of this feels like distant science fiction. We are already living in this world. AI assistants are part of everyday life now. I chat with ChatGPT almost every day, sometimes about lingering questions, sometimes just random thoughts. The idea of having an AI assistant moving around my home does not feel out of the question.

 

That is where the real dilemma appears. How safe are we with AI around us. Our phones already observe us constantly. Shorts like Subscribed show how easily helpful technology can shift into something controlling. That is what makes it unsettling. It feels real.

 

All of the directors appear to be indie filmmakers. Some have worked on larger productions in assistant roles or as actors, but none seem to have directed major studio films yet. That is not negative. It actually makes the collection more interesting. I hope several of these filmmakers move on to larger projects, especially a full-length version of When Unfettered.

 

One thing that still stands out is the lack of an intro or closing title for the collection. Seeing the Merge title at the beginning or the end would have helped tie everything together. It was nice to see full credits for all the shorts in the end, appreciated.

 

I give it 8/10, This is a thoughtful and engaging sci-fi anthology that encourages reflection rather than spectacle. These stories feel less like science fiction and more like a glimpse of a very near future. 

Links:
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt38793708
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP8EUOzWsJ0
Prime Video Link:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0G2MRLS5Y
https://www.cinecircle.co.uk/

 Article written by: Sonny Mikszath

Movie: María (2023)

(MAR.IA) 
Premiere: June 13, 2024 (Argentina)
Country of origin: Argentina
Directed by: Gabriel Grieco and Nicanor Loreti
Written by: Nicanor Loreti
Distributed by: Black Mandela, Camauer, Crep Films, Lahaye Media
Genre: Horror, Scifi, Thriller
Runtime: 1 h 21 min
Starring: Sofia Gala Castiglione, Malena Sanchez, Sergio Boris

 

Screener version
This sci-fi thriller is, to my surprise, not the first work of art from directors Gabriel Grieco and Nicanor Loreti. They have been directors for quite some time now. What surprised me is that the film does feel cheap. Their ambitions do not feel cheap, however, but the low production value still hurts the film. Here’s the plot.

Maria Black was once one of the world’s most important erotic actors—until the accident that took her life. Years go by. Sound engineer Ali is called to the set of a new erotic film, and everyone is surprised to discover that Maria Black is alive and well! The shoot gets out of hand and turns into a dramatic event involving blood, guns, and curious people wearing devil masks. 
 

As the title suggests, nothing is what it seems with Maria Black. In fact, the film highlights early on that she appears to be some kind of robot. And while the film doesn’t shy away from hinting at the obvious, it certainly takes a long time getting there.

The first problem is the strange ADR. The added dialogue made me wonder if the film is dubbed. It appears the movie was made in Argentina, however, so it doesn’t distract me that much. By the end of the day, I do get used to it—like watching an old kung-fu movie. It adds to the charm.

 The pacing is really off. It’s sad that the film is so slow, and once we get to the action, it has no energy. Whenever Maria shows up as a killer robot, the movie starts to feel even slower, as these scenes never really do anything for me. This is strange, as it should be the main thing I’m looking for here.

The cast is doing a good job, including the actress who plays Maria—Daria Panchenko. They show and give each other the kind of energy this movie needs. It is a wonderfully shot film! The lighting and different color palettes really work for me, and I think that is the film’s strongest point. I could live without the static flicker in the camera once Maria goes in for a kill. It looks distracting and takes me out of the movie.

5/10
All in all, it’s a decent effort, but nothing to write home about. I think the film holds up with a serious tone and a topic that doesn’t lose my interest, but I wasn’t that excited or entertained by the final result.

 

 

Links: 
www.black-mandala.com
IMDB

Article written by: Robin Andersson

 

 

 

 

 

Movie: The Invisible Raptor (2023)

 Festival Release: Sitges Film Festival, Spain — 7 October 2023
Public Release: 6 December 2024
Written by Mike Capes and Johnny Wickham
Directed by Mikey Hermosa
Starring Mike Capes, David Shackelford, Caitlin McHugh
Produced by Valecroft

I first came across this movie during a Discord event hosted by Heavy Metal magazine called Movie Night – Invisible Raptor w/ cast & crew. That is a weekly movie event they have on Discord. Meant to lift up independent movies. Love it!

Right away it felt special since the screening also included writer Mike Capes and producer Nic Neary talking, there was also Johnny Wickham, another writer, hanging out in the chat. Having them there added a lot of depth when talking about how the movie was made. It was also nice to see the community chatting, very nice and friendly setting.

The movie had me hooked immediately. Sean Astin popped up and I thought, what!!! That was such a fun surprise.

 

The premise is delightfully absurd yet clever. An invisible raptor escapes from a lab and Dr. Grant Walker, a paleontologist at a dinosaur amusement park called Dino World, teams up with the very eccentric head of security, Denny, to hunt it down through a small suburban town. Walker also has time for a romantic subplot with pretty Amber. The fact that the creature is literally invisible sounds silly but in practice it worked so well and gave the movie its own identity.

What really surprised me was the quality. I was expecting something rough around the edges but it did not look or feel like a low-budget production at all. It had a polished style with confidence.

The story itself leans hard into 80’s nostalgia. It is packed with references like E.T., there is even a kid named Elliott, Gremlins, Jaws, The Invisible Man, The Shining and of course Jurassic Park.

At times it reminded me of Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. The humor is smart yet ridiculous and as the movie went on it only grew more bizarre. Talking about Mary, the actor that played the eccentric head of security Denny, David Shackelford, he even was in There’s Something About Mary, playing “coconut guy”.

The dialogue stood out as sharp and funny. I loved the way it balanced absurd comedy with an actual story. Cameos were another highlight with about four or five sprinkled in, adding even more fun for viewers who recognize the faces, we had some luck having the crew call em out as they passed by on screen.

Overall The Invisible Raptor is a weird, clever, nostalgic ride that embraces its own absurdity. It is clearly made by people who love 80’s movies and are not afraid to get a little ridiculous while still delivering quality. By the end I was laughing, felt surprised and honestly impressed.

Rating: 9/10
This was no B-Movie, it was pure cinematic galore!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22090684/
https://www.facebook.com/invisibleraptormovie/


Article written by: Sonny Mikszath