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Rachel Shelley is fantastic in the lead role as Claire Rivers, the writer who has to endure so much. The writing retreat, which has only AIs for company, begins as a nice and peaceful place. This quickly changes when the Android meant to be her in-house assistant encounters a software problem.
Blank 2022: Movie Review
BLANK is a new sci-fi thriller that unfolds like a long episode of Black Mirror with a dash of Misery. Rachel Shelley takes the absolute lead in this very creepy story, which unfortunately runs a little too long. Read our complete Blank film review here!
BLANK is a new science fiction thriller starring Rachel Shelley as a writer suffering from severe writer's block. She's staring at that damn blank page while ignoring overdue notices and fielding calls from her agent. She attends a writing retreat to help her get started (and finish) her next book.
Things are a little different in this new sci-fi thriller because it takes place in an unknown time period. Or, more accurately, technology is. AI and physical robots are the primary examples. This immediately reminds me of Black Mirror, while the events unfolding remind me of Misery.
Continue reading our review of Blank below. The movie was released on September 23, 2022.
Misery meets Black Mirror
I understand that comparing anything to Black Mirror raises dangerously high expectations. However, both the frightening aspects of technology and the vibe can withstand the comparison. Adding Misery to the mix obviously adds an additional dangerous layer of expectations.
However, because we are dealing with a writer who is essentially forced to write her book, a comparison makes sense. Of course, Rita, the AI robot in Stephen King's Misery, is nothing like Annie Wilkes. However, both are dangerous in their own right.
A mystery is added to the world of terrifying technology and a "writer forced to write"-plot. Claire Rivers, the main character, is dealing with childhood demons. Maybe her memories will help her write her book. However, for the time being, they only lead her to drink. A lot!
A small but wonderful ensemble cast
Heida Reed perfectly portrays the AI robot (or android, if you will). Heida Reed must be emotionless as the android Rita. She can, however, convey very real emotions when reading aloud from written pages. And that is absolutely terrifying!
Finally, Wayne Brady (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) serves as the AI in command of everything. While he only exists in cyberspace, he appears in the house (where the writer's retreat is held) in classic Star Wars fashion. He's projected in full size, but he gets a little glitchy when the software error occurs.
In the present, these three actors constitute the entire cast. We've seen Annie Cusselle as Young Claire and Rebecca-Clare Evans as her mother, Helen Rivers, in the past. These flashback scenes from Claire's past are creepy in a way that the current Black Mirror world is not. That's all I'll say about it!
Blank is available in theaters and on demand
Blank is directed by Natalie Kennedy, and the screenplay was written by Stephen Herman. Natalie Kennedy makes her feature film debut with this sci-fi thriller, having previously worked on short films and TV series. Stephen Herman co-wrote the Blumhouse Halloween anthology 2020 Prime Video film Black Box.
Blank worked well for me for a long time. There's a bit of a disconnect between the style and vibe of the flashbacks and the present. I believe this is on purpose, but the film is stronger when it sticks to the sci-fi thriller style of the present-day story.
Also, it does run a bit too long, which is a shame. Especially since the runtime is already under 100 minutes, so it should be able to carry this. Rachel Shelley and Heida Reed are so amazing in this movie, that I do want to recommend it. I just can’t help but feel that with a few tweaks (or cuts), it could have been really amazing!
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