Beam up one of the most exciting science-fiction adventures of the month, Beyond the Trek available September 5th from Screen Media.
Winner of at least nine major film awards including Best Feature Films at the Los Angeles Movie Awards and Best Sci-Fi Feature at the New York Science Fiction Film Festival, Beyond the Trek is “Visually stunning and thematically engrossing...” (Indie Horror) and is “Reminiscent of an episode of Star Trek or 2001: A Space Odyssey...you feel completely immersed in this futuristic world” (Tai Freligh, Flickering Myth).
Five genetically engineered “perfect” humans are sent on a rescue mission to Titan, where only one man has survived a ruined expedition to retrieve a vital cargo. Under the stress of isolation in outer space, the five perfect humans begin to exhibit formerly-concealed character flaws that threaten to tear the mission (and their chances for survival) apart.
Sunny Mabrey (Snakes on a Plane, Species 3), Michael Nouri (The Hidden, TV’s Damages), and Lance Broadway (Olympus Has Fallen) star in an Ian Truitner film, available on VOD and DVD (exclusively from Walmart in the US) September 5th.
Says Truitner, “Beyond the Trek reflects back to classic Sci-Fi in its aim to challenge how we see the world and ourselves. It's not the frantic spectacle of special effects extravaganzas made by huge studios, rather we aimed to draw audiences in with suspense, multidimensional characters and thought-provoking themes. After a successful festival run that saw the film screen for Sci-Fi fans around the world, Beyond the Trek is now available to everyone!”
What was the pitch for the movie?
A deep space mining vessel has been adrift for two years. It is suspected the crew brutally killed each other, but the reason for the bloodbath is unknown. A rescue crew is sent to find if there are any survivors, what happened and why, but what they discover might make them destroy themselves and the world.
And if the trailer is anything to go by it would seem to be a wonderful homage to all the classic sci-fi films and series of the past?
Beyond the Trek is definitely influenced by classic Sci-Fi. It’s not homage so much as a fresh take on the theme of what it is to be human in the age of artificial intelligence and human genetic modification.
How hard is it to ground a movie like this – especially one set in the far reaches of space?
Great question! We actually didn’t want to ground people, but rather make them feel like they were on a space ship. Since budgets didn’t allow for zero gravity environments, we instead had the camera constantly in motion, as if the camera itself were floating in zero gravity. So in Beyond the Trek you feel like you are constantly floating.
And would you call it a straight-up space adventure or is it a mix of genres?
It’s more of a Sci-Fi thriller than space adventure.
Is there another movie you’d say your movie is reminiscent of?
It’s been compared to Event Horizon or Moon, and both are great comparisons from a quality standpoint. I personally think it’s closer to Battlestar Galactica.
What about the story - any influences there? Maybe something you saw in an old episode of V or Buck Rogers?
I love the classic Star Wars films, and my first conscious memory was seeing Star Wars. Empire Strikes Back blew my mind as a kid. As far as Beyond the Trek, Blade Runner and Gattaca are my biggest influences.
How much ‘science’ comes into a film like this? Do you have to back the yarn up with facts?
I had a couple of great consultants on the film who are scientists, and they helped create a world that is plausible (within the context of Sci-Fi). As storytellers we try our best to create authenticity, though what looks ‘cool’ often wins the day in cinema.
What’s coming up for you?
Just waiting to see how people react to Beyond the Trek, and then take it from there! A lot of hard work from a lot of people went into the film, and it’s been in festivals around the world winning over a dozen awards. Now it lives and breathes on its own.