Sci-Fi-London 2015: Closer To God Review

Director: Billy Senese.

Cast: Jeremy Childs, Shelean Newman, Shannon Hoppe, David Alford, Isaac Disney.

Certificate: N/A

Running Time: 81 minutes

Synopsis: After a press conference announces the arrival of the world’s first ever clone, the baby becomes a talking point over ethics and morals, while her creator must tread lightly through a sea of controversy.

Science-fiction certainly has a good stock of simple ideas that it can plunder and transform into TV series, films, or whatever else it wants. This year we’ve seen an abundance of warnings concerning artificial intelligence, but the other hot topic when it comes to science is cloning. Having grown up through the age of cloning, where we all marveled at Dolly the sheep, I have to say that Closer To God is the most thought provoking film on the matter. Not to mention a genuinely terrifying and balanced film of incredible quality.

Immediately you’ll notice just how 70s the whole production feels in terms of its look and atmosphere. It could almost have been a Pakula film, with even the actors (and I hope this isn’t an insult) looking as though they could enter any paranoia thriller from 40 years ago. Leading the charge is the aptly named Jeremy Childs as Victor, a doctor who has just cloned the world’s first human in the form of baby Elizabeth. After a press conference, the world is split on its opinions regarding the cloning of human life, while we see the effects his own work has on Victor.

The parallels between Victor and Frankenstein don’t stop at their Christian names. This is a man whose thirst for science is unquenchable, although the film charts wonderful progression in the character as he connects once again with his actual children. A memorable scene sees him looking on wantingly and maybe even with a hint of jealousy, as hired help entertains and connects with his daughters in a very loving and fatherly way. Childs gives a very nuanced and understandable approach and Senese’s fabulous script avoids any cliche of screaming scientist prattle about ‘the greater good’ or lines such as “What have I done?”. It’s refreshing and needed that the handling of the issue is very balanced and very mature.

The whole film is constructed with a sense of purpose, and the tension cranks up into something more related to a horror. There are moments where viewers may forget to breathe, but it’s the palpitations of the heart brought on by their own opinions that will be remembered. Every type of character is represented, whether it be those concerned with cloning, those against it for religious reasons, those of a more extreme variety, and those who see the good it could do. This balance is also highlighted in the survival of one of Victor’s previous creations, but the less said there the better.

Closer To God is smart horror/sci-fi with the ability to be quiet and entertaining all thanks to its handling of its main themes. Senese’s direction knows when to keep things still, and when to add shaky cam for that frantic effect. The gradual progression of people’s fear becoming something to be feared itself is a wonderful undercurrent to a very personal jurney that obviously has ramifications on the whole world. Great performances, and an unbearable air of tension and foreboding, all culminate for a little film that absolutely satisfied not just based on its own merits, but when to compared to any other film or any budget.

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