Leofwine_draca
CHRYSALIS is one of the dullest science fiction movies I can imagine. This no-budget independent picture is based on a Ray Bradbury story, not so you'd know it. Now, speculative fiction is always good at dealing with ideas and the Big Picture, topics that never translate very well to the screen where the layout and execution is much different and where acting and characters come to the fore. An author can weave you into a magical world through the strength of his prose alone whereas a director's methods are much more limited.The execution in this film? Two guys in a dark room arguing while a third guy is strapped to a gurney and subject to various low rent FX work. That's your entire film. Sure, some of the themes explored by the debating characters are interesting, but they're also rather superficial and it's tiresome that the merciless scientist is another bad guy Brit. I think time may well prove that the source material for this film is pretty much unfilmable because certainly as a film this is a massive failure.
JoeB131
I'm getting the feeling that this was a pretty faithful adaptation of Bradbury's story. I haven't read that story, so I don't know how close, but Bradbury (who amazingly, is still alive) had unprecedented control over his work. (As opposed to Richard Matheson, whose work is pretty much put through a blender.) The thing is, this was a movie made on the cheap, and I'm not sure it really translates well to screen. Okay, I wasn't expecting a CGI shoot-em-up, but an hour and a half of guys arguing about whether a prop in the middle of the room is a danger or not gets boring after a while, too.Worth watching? Maybe to hardcore Bradbury fans looking for faithful adaptations.
shawnmack
Really super bad acting, boring dragged out.... Has a cheap TV movie feel to it.. Did I mention that acting is horrendous .....I am truly grateful I didn't pay any money to see this turkey. This thing belongs on rotten tomatoes. How can you take an excellent story from Bradbury and ruin it like this. These people should be shot. The movie has all the good post apocalyptic trappings but falls really short of quality. I think this would have made a better play. The acting is so bad that the movie truly suffers, I would expect something like this for the homemade movies you see at the video store every once in a while. I am sure the budget was less than $10,000 (if it wasn't ...some one got ripped off)
ericd325
Finally got to see Chrysalis on demand this week and I have to say I was really pleased. I was hoping they wouldn't go and turn Bradbury's story about human evolution into another piece of post apocalyptic violent junk. I'm glad to report that wasn't the case. I didn't recognize any of the actors but Bradbury's dialogue and story keeps things very interesting. The movie features a series of Emergency broadcasts all throughout which are used to fill the characters (and the audience) in on what's happening in the rest of the world during this ecological crisis the movie presents. I think that's one of the most clever storytelling techniques in the film. I really enjoy how the story is told on two different fronts -- the main characters inside the research facility with their dilemma about the Chrysalis and the rest of the world suffering through the eco-crisis which we get to discover through the emergency broadcasts. Highly recommend it for fans of true hard sci-fi. Can't wait to get it on DVD. Would love to see some footage from the film festivals and Comic Con panels that Bradbury has participated on to promote the film.
AD
