Exploring bioengineering and modern technologies, MAINLINE focuses on the negative effects of tampering with time travel. Written and directed by Eric Kleifield, this new short follows lonely scientist Jake (Blaine Vedros) through his agonizing attempts at time travel and the drastic measures that need to be taken when things go awry. This mysterious thriller pulls you into intense scenarios that blend into psychological disarray.

The overall look and feel of MAINLINE has remnants that lie within such movies as Cronenberg’s The Fly, with the creation of a scientifically driven character obsessed with achieving their goal. Even the poster has an enticing Cronenberg feel through its static and double-visioned configuration. The film’s composition basks in a desolation of dreary colors that comprise of stress and loneliness, with one room as the main focus. Hanging wires and video cameras make up the science fiction ensemble, while protagonist Jake struggles to achieve his serum. Director Kleifield uses all of these elements to his advantage to create simplistic yet strong undertones that unravel into a dark and emotional story.

Jake is presented as having a range of complex characteristics; how did this situation come to be, and what happened to his family? We get subtle hints toward the situation at hand, leaving the audience to creatively fill in the gaps. Actor Blaine Vedros as Jake portrays fixation mixed with human emotion rather well, making us feel for the character. We as the audience see Jake’s pain and numerous failures towards this experiment that dominate his existence. He’s forced to undergo grueling trial and errors and perform emotionally upsetting decisions to perfect his craft and possibly save his family. Vedros balances all of these levels well, coming across as a believable character who is at the end of his rope.

Clocking in at around eleven minutes, MAINLINE screens at Cinepocalypse from June twenty-third through the twenty-sixth. Be sure to catch this gem on the big screen, as good science fiction thrillers are in short supply these days.

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Abigail Braman

Abigail is a macabre and horror artist, primarily working in oil paints and found objects, and does freelance writing for both Nightmarish Conjurings and Pophorror. She loves all-things horror, animation, and art history, and is currently working on her first dark stop-motion animated horror short film, Cadillac Dust. Abigail is also very passionate about music, having used to play the banjo, guitar, and sing in a band called The Killer Pines. When she's not either painting, writing, working, or watching movies while doing all of these things, she's probably sleeping, or cuddling with Claude the cat (or both).

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Latest posts by Abigail Braman (see all)

• Tribeca Film Festival Review: AAMIS (2019) - April 26, 2019
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• Women In Horror Interview: Director/Production Designer Laura Moss - February 28, 2019

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