Special mention goes to Sidney Leeder and the lead actress Jeananne Goossen. Did I hear you scream "getting a virus on your computer"? There are some nice ideas that could have been expanded upon. John Noonan Incredibly mundane and bland, just like the rest of the movie. Like a younger family member telling you a horror story. © Copyright 2020 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved. Your email address will not be published. You know what dates a movie more than anything? There’s a distinct touch of Event Horizon as the AI, known in the credits as I Am, uses the group’s fears and weaknesses to bring them down, including everything from vicious sexual assault down to tiny lickle rats. 6 stars for Momoa's seductive performance. Solid entertainment. Spent half the budget on Jason Momoa and the other half on CG (of which 3/4 probably went on the HUD effects since some of the CGI in this looks terrible). Just about the only two big budget 'spaceship set-type' movies of recent years were the Star Trek reboots and Prometheus. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. (The women have enough time to take off their clothes before meeting their gruesome demises.). If anything, aside from the odd splash of red, it’s all a bit twee. Im not very pleased with the ending but yea...its an ending just the same. Overall this movie is pretty good, watch it tonight!I rated this film a 8! young hackers on a grueling work release program attempt to clear out - debug - the computer systems of a massive derelict freighter. The premise of the movie was good, but not new. Therefore, I always try to give a space movie a chance. A team of ne'er-do-wells are sent in to Debug the place, but find themselves victims of this Trojan Horse-power. If you're expecting state of the art CGI and explosions everywhere this might not be the film for you. Writer-director David Hewlett probably had visions of a pocket-sized 2001: A Space Odyssey, but instead produces something closer to Cheap Space Nine. Didn't want this super bad ass AI to die. 15 years on and The Matrix looks every bit like the student’s night down at a rock club in the 90s that it actually is. So, how can you combat this? It’s her weighted performance that gives Debug the least bit of credibility. How to Get Your Book or Comic Reviewed on HNN. Equally problematic is the cast. The one area where it could have been something special (the FX and Gore) was edited, so that you never actually saw the deaths but the after effects, which is a cop out if I ever saw one. This movie starts out bad, and unsurprisingly, gets worse from there. Avoid, as I should have. David Hewlett's avant-garde space age concept movie is a bit odd. Don't be deceived. A dystopia setup for young, attractive, anti-system hackers to attempt to overcome. Clearly filmed in a zero-gravitas environment, Debug is a Canadian sci-fi gore-fest with a filmic reach that falls short of even its modest budget. Unfortunately it's not either. 06/13/2018 Though fun might not be the right word for it. The action was kind of slow. If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to [email protected]. But after watching it all the way through I can honestly say its damn good movie. The acting is alright, the effects are good enough, and the plot is predictable but acceptable. REVIEW: Even as a fan of Jason Momoa, I still found myself wondering how anyone thought this movie was a good idea, as it was just so basic in terms of size and scope. But I think the episode in Star Trek: Voyager where Belonda has to fix a "sick" (i.e., homicidal) medical hologram on a stranded ship was closer. And stripping down to do it seemed unnecessary and gratuitous. Pop some popcorn set back and get ready for a pretty good movie. After all but two of our gallant nerds are sent off for an early shower, Debug gives up pretending it’s a horror film and after some Doctor Who type nonsense, the finale mutates into a martial arts flick set within the AI’s mainframe because science. And scarier. Judge them to death! 50 out of 62 found this helpful She's one of the few characters that has some depth, motivation, and sense of fun. But it's all in the fun of it (if you're having it, that is). Also shout out for using a LGBT character in a different way! Movies. Everything else? The good thing about this movie, and a lot of other low-budget sci-fi, is that they aren't forced to do the usual "handsome guy falls in love while saving the world"-story. There are science fiction films that shoot for the stars and try to mold or redefine what the genre is and what it can do, and there are science fiction films that just try to fill in a couple hours and send the viewer out feeling OK about the way he spent some free time. In the far-flung future of Twelfty Thirtisteen (or something to that affect), a group of hackers board a space freighter with the purpose of wiping its systems, or ‘debug’ them if you will. There was more of that. Those big money making movie producers/director/actors eagerly want your reviews! Comparing the two, it is peculiar to find that the reason Event Horizon worked so much better has nothing to do with its production values and everything to do with its focus on atmosphere—an area where Debug has every opportunity to match it, and simply fails to do so. While the subplots and backgrounds may differ, both films deal with the same scenario: an evil that has taken over a spaceship and a crew that comes to investigate. Diondra going into a weird access tunnel after she discovers a dead body is the weirdest. Rate This Movie: SYNOPSIS: Six young computer hackers sent to work on a derelict space freighter, are forced to match wits with a vengeful artificial intelligence that would kill to be human. Tags Adam Butcher Adrian Holmes David Hewlett Debug Jadyn Wong Kerr Hewitt Kyle Mac Sidney Leeder Tenika Davis. There is little point in beating around the bush about it: the obvious comparison for Debug is Event Horizon. Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. Correct. Movie Whisperer’s review published on Letterboxd: Terrible film. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to, To view this site properly, enable cookies in your browser. Release Calendar DVD ... Debug is, in the end, a mediocre film with several massive, bulky cargo holds full of wasted potential due to an almost mindless indifference to the core driver of every good horror film—atmosphere. It’s been discussed many a time that horror doesn’t systematically have to be gory. Terrible scripting, horrible acting and a beyond stupid premise. Film Review: Debug (2014) John Noonan 06/13/2018 Film Reviews. Having been convicted of various computer crimes, it’s something they have to do as part of their parole. Oh dear. 5 stars { review.getRatingValue }} "Top-notch freebie" "Top-notch freebie" maxcoaster January 21, 2014 / Version: DebugMode Wax 2.0e We hope to have this fixed soon. This article was published more than 5 years ago. Menu. 8 of 10. Whilst we should applaud any film that doesn’t simply do the kneejerk equation of computer expert equals sexless troglodyte, I simply cant’ believe that every single one of them is a smooth, sexy, bouncy man or woman you’d like to rub yourself against. I gave it the rating I did for the design of the spacecraft at the very end of the movie (which made more sense as a space craft over what it looked like the other 99% of the time). Debug movie reviews & Metacritic score: Six young computer hackers are sent to work on a derelict space freighter as a part of a work release program. The cover art is about the most expensive part of this whole film. One of those movies that is good because it's kinda bad. You have to want to like it in order to do so! Their overseer is black – this is a racial reversal of chain-gang dramas – but then again the boss is a junkie-thug and the hackers are ecoterrorists, and mostly righteous. And it is in that terror that I lead you into this Science Fiction-Horror about a derelict space freighter that is riddled with a cantankerous AI. A movie that feels a little old school but still has some surprises, it's a solid effort by fan favourite David Hewlett. 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