The Gratuitous B-Movie Column 08.09.10: Issue #118
Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz on 08.09.2010
In this issue I take a look at the 2007 low budget sci-fi action time travel flick "Termination Point" starring Jason Priestley and Lou Diamond Phillips.
The Gratuitous B-Movie Column Issue #118: "Termination Point" (2007)
Hello, everyone, and welcome once again to the internets movie review column that doesn't have a cat named Gerald, The Gratuitous B-Movie Column, and I am your host Bryan Kristopowitz. In this issue, issue number one hundred and eighteen, I take a look at the low budget sci-fi action flick from 2007 "Termination Point" starring Jason Priestly and Lou Diamond Phillips.
Termination Point (2007)
"Termination Point," directed by Jason Bourque, is one of those weird beard low budget time travel movies that tries very hard to make sense of its ridiculous premise, and for the most part it succeeds, which is a rarity when it comes to low budget time travel movies. The flick stars Jason Priestley as Caleb Smith, some kind of bad ass government agent that either works for the FBI, CIA, or some other government agency. He's about to take a vacation with his family (wife Claire, as played by Stefanie von Pfetten, and daughter Sarah, as played by Ashley Whillans) when he gets a call from his boss Quinn (Garwin Sanford). Quinn has a big problem that he needs Smith's help fixing. Apparently government scientist Dr. Daniel Winter (Lou Diamond Phillips) has disappeared after being told that the time travel project he was working on, codenamed "Alpha Stream," has been shut down for national security reasons (basically it's just too damn dangerous to keep working on). And Dr. Winter has also apparently stolen the "Alpha Stream" machine (the thing that allows time travel). Quinn wants Smith to lead a SWAT raid on Winter's house and, hopefully, get the Alpha Stream machine back.
Smith's wife is pissed, as she had planned this family vacation for some time (they don't get to spend much time as a family because Caleb's hours are often long and erratic). But she can't pull Caleb away from his work because it's so dang important. He tells Claire that this job will be quick and that he'll be on the next available flight. This vacation will happen. So Agent Caleb Smith goes off to save the day. Little does Smith know that Dr. Winter is on the same flight as his family and that the Alpha Stream machine is in the plane's cargo hold.
Smith conducts the raid and, obviously, doesn't find Dr. Winter or the machine. What Smith does find is a video from Dr. Winter explaining why he stole the Alpha Stream and that the scientist has surveillance photos of Smith and his family. What the hell is the deal with that? After some quick investigating Smith finds out that Dr. Winter is on his family's flight. Quinn, under strict orders to do whatever is necessary to stop Dr. Winter from doing whatever the heck he's doing, calls up two military fighters to take the plane down. Smith objects and tries to get Quinn to back off, but Quinn is a man that follows orders. The fighters engage the passenger plane.
There's an explosion. Presumably the fighter jets brought the plane down. There's flaming wreckage everywhere. Smith breaks down. His family is dead.
Or are they?
To make a complicated story somewhat less complicated, Smith finds out that there's something very strange about the crash site. The wreckage isn't what it appears to be. It is Smith's family's plane, but it isn't. The "real" plane has apparently disappeared into a wormhole, a wormhole created by Dr. Winter activating the Alpha Stream machine while on the plane, and the wormhole is messing around with the space-time continuum. In fact, the wormhole that the plane is trapped in has caused a massive, traveling super storm that's destroying everything in its path. So it's up to Smith and his new research assistant Allison (Erin Karpluk) to find a way to get the missing plane out of the wormhole and stop the super storm.
Meanwhile, on the plane, the Smith family, Dr. Winter, and everyone else are being held hostage by a mysterious man named David (Gary Hudson) and his perverted henchman Liam (Michael Eklund). David wants Dr. Winter to find a way to get out of the wormhole so he can then turn the machine over to his employer, who may or may not be a secret faction within the military that wants to use the Alpha Stream as a weapon.
Is that enough damn plot for you?
There's probably more plot in there somewhere but I don't remember what that could have been. The best parts of the movie are the beginning section and the last twenty minutes. The middle part is a little shaky as it's difficult to follow what's precisely going on. The parts on the plane are pretty decent, mostly because of Eklund's sleazy performance as Liam. When you first see Eklund he has eyes for Smith's daughter and you wait for him to act. The only thing keeping Liam off Sarah is Hudson's bad guy Martin. Martin is only interested in keeping order on the plane and keeping the hostages quiet. If he can keep Liam's pants on there won't be any serious trouble. Martin is a scumbag, though. He's not a good guy.
Priestley puts in a decent enough performance as Agent Caleb Smith. The bits with his family don't come off as well as they should, but the tough guy action scenes work. Priestley doesn't look like an idiot while holding a gun. I just wish he had more chemistry with Stefanie von Pfetten. He has chemistry with Ashley Whillans, though. You totally believe that he is her father. Lou Diamond Phillips puts in an interesting performance as Dr. Daniel Winter, the whacked out scientist. Dr. Winter is perpetually scared of what could happen. Considering how wimpy he is it's amazing that he garnered enough courage to steal the time travel machine. How often do we see Phillips sweat?
Erin Karpluk, as Caleb's assistant Allison, is pretty cool, until she gets her neck snapped for knowing too much. It's too bad that she had to die because I would have loved to see work with Priestley again in a sequel of some kind. And Garwin Sanford does a good job as Smith's boss Quinn. Bradley Stryker does an okay job as Chris Van Elden, the military man that wants the Alpha Stream for potentially nefarious purposes. He would have been better served if it was obvious from the beginning that he was the flick's main villain. A movie like this doesn't need any more complicating factors than necessary.
The special effects are fairly well done. The wormhole effects are very cool to look at, and the super storm lightning bolts are actually pretty scary. The wind effects are a little overdone, though. The dark skies and the wind in the background are all the movie really needs. The rest is just overkill.
"Termination Point" is a little convoluted, but it's worth checking out at least once. I'm actually thinking about watching it again to see if I missed something important. And I wouldn't mind seeing Priestley take on more roles like Caleb Smith. In the low budget B-movie action world he could become a player if he really worked at it.
So, yeah, hunt down "Termination Point" or give it a look when it's on TV. It's not bad.
So what do we have here? Barn sex, disappearing windmill, flaming plane wreckage, charred human remains, a burned up boarding pass, some pretty cool opening titles music, gratuitous Jason Priestley, gratuitous Lou Diamond Phillips, a house raid, gratuitous hooey about time travel, gratuitous Jason Priestley using his camera phone, a long line for the bathroom, massive panic, a vanishing airplane, gratuitous bullshit about wormholes, gratuitous super storms, bondage, a stewardess that sort of looks like Rae Dawn Chong, bad guy beating, neck snapping, a guy drinking a small bottle of booze, serious chair bondage, face punching, ghosts, several shootouts, and an ending that kind of makes sense.
Best lines: "Secure tactical frequency?," "There's an electromagnetic signal coming from the plane," "For the love of God don't do this!," "Allison, what debris field are you talking about?," "Sonofabitch!," "You know, space looks beautiful this time of year, doesn't it?," "You gotta get out more, Doc," "It's nasty out there, isn't it?," and "Have a safe flight."
Rating: 6.9/10.0
***
And now, the weekly Fearnet update
Do you have Fearnet on your cable/satellite system? If you do, you're lucky because it's the only free all horror/thriller on Demand station going (it's also one of the few places that is proud of B-movies). If you're a Time Warner cable subscriber, you don't have it. You probably used to have it, but it was snatched away from you last year. But there is a way to see what Fearnet has to offer. Just go here.
Yes, that's the Fearnet website, where you can check out the free movies Fearnet has to offer (the site gets new ones every Wednesday), horror news, and more. "Dead Above Ground," from Stephen J. Cannell, was on there last week. Is it still there?Check and see. The site also has a pretty nifty web series featuring Freddy Krueger hisself, Robert Englund, and Kane "Jason Voorhees" Hodder, "Fear Clinic" that's definitely worth a look.
If you're a Facebook nerd you can check out the Fearnet fans Facebook page, which can be seen here. There are plenty of people out there interested in Fearnet. Come join them.
(As always, thanks to both Mark Lindsey and Mathew Hirsch for info regarding the Fearnet fan movement).
***
"Live Evil" is now on DVD!
"Live Evil," the movie I've been talking about for close to a year and reviewed here is now on DVD and available to purchase.
It's been a long time coming but "Live Evil" is finally on store shelves all over the country. If you don't have a reputable DVD seller near you (and by reputable I mean a seller that deals in damn near everything that comes out on DVD, from major studio releases to small independent movies like "Live Evil") go to the movie's website and order it from there or you can go here to amazon. You can also rent the flick from various video rental places, but you'll have to go to those places to find out if they have it.
The DVD contains the following:
- Unrated movie
- 5.1 Surround Sound
- Audio commentary with director Jay Woelfel, producer Mark Terry, and Mark Hengst ("Benedict")
- Deleted scenes
- Q & A with star Tim Thomerson and director Jay Woelfel at Fangoria LA convention
- Tim Thomerson intro from Flashback Weekend 2009
- Promo video of "Live Evil" at Fangoria Weekend of Horror 2009
- Theatrical trailer
- And more!
With all of those cool special features how could you not want to own "Live Evil"?
So go out right now (well, you can wait until after you finish reading this column) and purchase "Live Evil." You'll be glad you did.
Long live the Priest!
***
Well, I think that'll be about it for this issue. B-movies rule, always remember that. And if there's anything you want to see reviewed here in this column, feel free to offer a comment below or send me an e-mail. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff to watch.
And don't forget to bookmark 411 via the little line below. You'll be glad you did.
"Termination Point"
Jason Priestley- Caleb Smith Lou Diamond Phillips- Dr. Daniel Winter Garwin Sanford- Quinn Gary Hudson- David L. Martin Stefanie von Pfetten- Claire Smith Michael Eklund- Liam Bradley Stryker- Chris Van Elden Erin Karpluk- Allison Curran Ashley Whillans- Sarah Smith
Directed by Jason Bourque Screenplay by Peter Sullivan
