Review by
Ren Zelen
Directed by: Jeff Desom, Dugan O'Neal, Saman Kesh
Starring: Josh Peck, Lina Esco, Wilson Bethel, Kyp Malone,
Kathy Khanh Nguyen, Julianne Collins, Jordan Rock
Portal comprises of a trio of sci-fi shorts from the crew
behind the V/H/S horror films. Creator/producer
Chris White and creative director Saman Kesh teamed up with
directors Jeff Desom and Dugan O'Neal to film three
segments, each offering a different perspective on the same story.
Released in the US as 'Doors' but renamed Portal for the UK,
the three short films examine the experience of contact with a
particularly cryptic alien entity. The story begins when, without any
warning, a million giant doors, covered in what look like pulsating,
sentient iron-filings, appear all over the Earth.
Some of those that encounter these animate doors feel drawn to them. They
hear beckoning voices and when they get in close proximity they are sucked
inside and disappear. By contrast, those unaffected stay behind to try to
unravel the mystery of what the portals are and what their purpose on
Earth might be.
The opening segment, entitled 'Lockdown', introduces the arrival of the
portals as seen through the eyes of a group of high school students who
start the day in detention. For Ash (Kathy Khanh Nguyen), Jake (Aric Floyd), Lizzie (Julianne Collins) and Rory (Rory Anne Dahl) the
session begins ordinarily enough but it soon becomes clear that something
frightening is happening outside. All their confiscated phones begin
ringing, including the invigilating teacher’s, who takes the call but then
rushes from the classroom.
The kids get increasingly distressed as they hear army jets whooshing
overhead and birds begin to slam themselves into the windows. When they
break out of their locked-down classroom, they find the school deserted
and a huge, gently pulsating portal blocking the corridor out.
'Lockdown' serves to set the scene for the mystery of the shimmering
portals, while the second segment, 'Knockers', takes place a few weeks
after the phenomenon has begun. It serves to provide a glimpse into what
happens to the people on the other side of these strange gateways.
Hoping to determine the reason for the arrival of these cosmic visitors,
the government enlists volunteers to cross the thresholds to learn more
about their origin. ‘Knockers’ is the nickname given to the volunteer
researchers who cross over and then hopefully return with reports on what
they have seen on the other side. However, the young volunteers are
unprepared for what lies beyond.
Nothing can be brought back from the other side and trial and error has
already determined that a person can only be on the other side of a door
for 12 minutes before they begin to suffer psychosis. This is because it
soon becomes impossible to tell what and who may be real and what is a
hallucination. We follow three volunteers - a young couple Becky (Lina Esco) and Vince (Josh Peck), and their colleague Patrick (Dugan O'Neal) - on their unnerving journey.
Because of the dream-like nature of ‘other side’ the 'Knockers' segment is
the most surreal, ‘trippy’ and intriguing. Soon the viewer also becomes
entangled in the shifts in reality. The line between what is real and what
is illusion becomes increasingly blurred.
Further information comes in the third short entitled 'Lamaj'. This
segment centres on a gentle scientist named Jamal (Kyp Malone from
the band ‘TV on the Radio’), who lives in seclusion in a makeshift cabin
in the woods and secretly conducts his own research on a portal that has
appeared in the forest. One day his work pays off and he finds a way to
communicate with the alien intelligence behind the door.
Realising the importance of his breakthrough, he invites another scientist
to his cabin to share the excitement. She is a former colleague and an old
flame. Unfortunately, she also brings along her current boyfriend, a
civilian who has no appreciation of scientific exploration or the risks in
making new discoveries. As the two scientists enthusiastically discuss the
possibilities, he moves aside to call the authorities.
Holding the segments together is a recurrent audio broadcast from an
internet talk show host calling himself Martin Midnight (David Hemphill), who specialises in examining ‘weird’ phenomena. In an epilogue we see
Midnight broadcasting his show with a guest who gives him more insight
regarding the doors than he bargains for.
Like any anthology, Portal is only intermittently
successful. Sometimes it can be a little slow and frustrating, but it
still works often enough in making the scenario intriguing and suggesting
ideas which provide food for thought.
Overall, Portal should be commended in its ambition as it is
visually impressive and embraces an unconventional method to tell its
story and to convey big ideas, all on a minimal budget. While it may not
always be altogether successful, it’s still a worthwhile experiment that
is worth a look for dedicated fans of sci-fi.
Portal is on Prime Video UK now.