Spectral
2016 · Directed by Nic Mathieu
Original language: English
- science fiction
- thriller
- action
The story
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
What it’s like
Cool blue-grey night streets, rain-slick cobbles and the hard white glare of military floodlights give this one a cold, militarised look, with the city lit in sodium orange and shadow. The camera stays close and handheld during firefights, jittering through smoke and tracer fire, then settles into steadier framing when the team pauses to take stock in dim interiors. Sound leans on a low, throbbing synth-and-drone score, sharp gunfire cracks and eerie silences where the unseen enemy seems to press in. The vibe is tense, grim and techno-spooky, a mix of ghostly dread and hardware-heavy action. Violence is frequent and fairly graphic, with gunfire, bodies and battlefield injuries, and the scares are loud and abrupt rather than gory. Pacing is relentless in the set pieces and more restrained between them, with the soldiers' bonds under strain as their mission turns desperate. It suits viewers who want a late-night action-horror watch with an eerie, otherworldly edge and no need for gentleness.
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