Discontinued

Directed by Trevor Peckham, Discontinued follows Ashley Hutchinson’s Sarah as she learns that her entire reality is a soon-to-be-shut-down simulation. It’s an appealing high concept setup that’s employed to periodically passable yet mostly underwhelming effect by Packham, as the filmmaker, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a perpetually rough-around-the-edges endeavor that remains unable to wholeheartedly capture the viewer’s rapt interest and attention – with the arms-length atmosphere perpetuated by a continuing emphasis on distracting, less-than-spellbinding attributes (including, and especially, Olaf Thorvaldsson’s grating score and Peckham’s ongoing reliance on ill-advised attempts at humor). The movie’s failure is especially disappointing given the strength of its premise and of Hutchinson’s personable turn as the floundering central character, although, in terms of Peckman’s execution of the former, it does become more and more difficult to completely buy into the scenario due to a preponderance of unanswered questions (eg if everyone decided to stay, wouldn’t the planet remain exactly the same?) And while the picture admittedly does conclude on a touching, almost poetic note, Discontinued has, by that point, long since cemented its place as a potentially intriguing sci-fi effort that simply doesn’t work as a full-length feature.

*1/2 out of ****