Apple's Mind-Bending Multiverse Drama Is The Best Sci-Fi Series In Years
(Welcome to Under the Radar, a column where we spotlight specific movies, shows, trends, performances, or scenes that caught our eye and deserved more attention ... but otherwise flew under the radar. In this edition: the high-concept Apple TV+ original series "Dark Matter," the Lily Gladstone-starring indie "Fancy Dance," and the South Korean horror movie "Exhuma" stood out from the pack in June.)
Have rumors of cinema's demise been greatly exaggerated? I make no claims about understanding the fine art of box office prognostication, preferring to leave that to the experts who actually know what they're talking about (such as /Film's very own Ryan Scott). But after months of doom and gloom over general audiences failing to show up for several high-profile movies in relatively short order, it was difficult not to fear the worst and chalk up 2024 to another lost year for moviegoers and theater owners alike. The past few weeks, however, have given us some reason to hope that not all is lost just yet. "A Quiet Place: Day One" is kicking some serious butt, "Inside Out 2" shattered animation records on its way to a cool billion dollars, and even "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" provided a welcome reminder that opening weekends aren't everything.
But now that blockbuster filmmaking seems to be performing near where it ought to be, what about the best of the rest? School's out, summer's in full swing, and there are plenty of distractions to compete with an afternoon spent in theaters. So, for those curious and open-minded enough to seek out anything somewhat off the beaten path, well, the month of June was awfully kind in that regard. Below, we've rounded up three worthy titles — and you won't even need to leave your living room to check them out.
Dark Matter
"Are you happy in your life?" This line in the premiere episode of "Dark Matter," vocalized early on but seemingly as a throwaway line of questioning, might as well sum up the entire point of the Apple TV+ miniseries. Based on the novel of the same name by author Blake Crouch (who also serves as creator and showrunner on the adaptation), the story follows the average life of the rather unremarkable Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton). He's married to the love of his life Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), has a normal teenage son named Charlie (Oakes Fegley), and works as a physics professor at a local college who teaches about concepts like Schrodinger's cat with the casual air of someone who, deep down, wonders if he was meant for much more in life than this. And maybe, in another world, he is.
To its credit, "Dark Matter" doesn't beat around the bush. Here's yet another multiverse adventure, in which an alternate version of Jason kept up his scientific pursuits instead of settling for a life of domestic bliss, perfected a machine capable of traversing parallel dimensions, and left his reality behind in favor of one where he isn't haunted by his biggest regret. At a time when the idea of the multiverse has been done to death in the superhero scene, Crouch and his stable of co-writers and directors keep this fresh by drilling down into its most fundamental appeal in the first place: the allure of righting past wrongs and actually seeing the paths not taken. For those looking for media that doesn't talk down to its audience, that tackles some seriously existential themes, and that takes full advantage of the genre's strengths, this is the series for you.
Season 1 of "Dark Matter" is streaming on Apple TV+.
Fancy Dance
When a mother's sudden disappearance puts her daughter at risk of getting lost in a foster system that doesn't actually care for her wellbeing, her aunt goes to increasing lengths to get things done herself. We've seen countless variations of this premise before "Fancy Dance" came along, which starts out as a road-trip film and coming-of-age story before taking a turn for much weightier territory, but rarely before from a perspective that centers on the Indigenous point of view. It'd be reductive to call this a "companion piece" to Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," which similarly starred Lily Gladstone and focused on murdered members of the Osage Nation, but there's no denying that director Erica Tremblay's heartfelt effort here transcends formula to deliver something truly unique and original.
"Fancy Dance" begins with Jax (Gladstone) and her young niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) already doing whatever it takes to scrape a living on the Seneca–Cayuga Nation Reservation in Oklahoma. Pulling off grifts and petty thefts like a couple of seasoned pros, the pair's (frequently comedic) dynamic only speaks to how desperate their plight is — one complicated by Roki's missing mother. With a tribal powwow coming up in a matter of weeks, Roki clings to the hope that she'll return in time for their planned mother/daughter cultural dance. Jax, her sheriff brother JJ (Ryan Begay), and the more seasoned members of their community know better; this isn't a world where stories of missing Indigenous women usually end happily. Still, an impending custody battle over Roki (Shea Whigham plays Jax's absentee dad and Roki's grandfather-turned-temporary guardian to perfection) and her need for the truth force Jax's hand. Poignant and heartbreaking in equal measure, "Fancy Dance" is a must watch.
"Fancy Dance" is available to stream on Apple TV+.
Exhuma
You've never seen a ghost story quite like this one. Marketed as a supernatural horror flick that's heavy on scares and an unsettling tone, "Exhuma" actually spends much of it runtime playing its cards close to the chest. What writer and director Jang Jae-hyun has crafted instead is a slow-burning, atmospheric, and utterly engrossing thriller that treats hauntings as matter-of-factly as the "shamans" and "geomancers" recruited to keep discontented spirits in check. We meet our "ghostbusters" Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun) as they're on their way to Los Angeles from Korea, hired by a wealthy Korean national (Hong Seo-jun) who believes every firstborn in his family — including his newborn — has become afflicted by some mysterious, possibly supernatural illness. When their investigation puts them in touch with Feng Shui expert Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik) and funeral home director Yoo Hae-jin (Ko Young Geun), they decide to exhume an ancestor's body and relocate it to appease the vengeful apparition. What they inadvertently unleash through these actions, believe me, is better experienced than described.
What's most impressive about "Exhuma" is its artfully restrained approach to building tension. It doesn't take long to understand the film's early emphasis on mirrors and reflections, repurposed later on as a nifty filmmaking tool that ends up making the final act's more overt occult imagery hit even harder. With such a high level of craftsmanship in display and a genre-friendly hook keeping audiences engaged every step of the way, it's no surprise the Korean movie has broken out to become one of the year's biggest international hits. By the time the film switches into another gear and incorporates Japanese mythology into the fray, the hell-raising visuals will stick in your memory for days and weeks to come.
"Exhuma" is currently streaming on Shudder.