‘Ultrasound' is a science fiction film that follows Glen, a man whose car breaks down and he ends up spending the night with a married couple who offer him a place to stay the night. Things take a strange turn, setting into motion a chain of events that will alter Glen’s life, and those around him, forever.
After Glen’s car breaks down, he seeks shelter in the nearby house and is invited in by Art and his wife Cyndi. After an evening of drinking, Art convinces Glen to sleep with Cyndi, telling him she is unsatisfied with him and their marriage. The following morning, Glen wakes up to an empty house and leaves. In the meantime, we are introduced to Katie, a woman seemingly unaware of her own pregnancy, who is later greeted by her boyfriend, Senator Harris, implying that their relationship is an affair.
Some time later, Art shows up at Glen’s house, informing him that Cyndi is pregnant and it is his child. Shocked, Glen eventually agrees to go see her with Art, only to find a text message from Cyndi asking him to meet with her to discuss the situation. Cut to a few months later, Cyndi is now staying with Glen until one evening she begins to experience pain. Unbeknownst to them, Glen and Cyndi are being monitored, and soon after Cyndi begins to experience the pain, the two are subdued and hauled off to a research facility.
At the facility, Dr. Conners and Shannon, a fellow psychologist and researcher, prepare to examine and monitor Glen and Cyndi, revealing that the two have been under a continuous state of suggestion, as Art is an illusionist and hypnotist, having convinced Glen and Cyndi of their night together and the phantom pregnancy. Dr. Conners is pursuing the research as he used to work with Art, who, after suffering a breakdown disappeared, only to later carry on independent research. Dr. Conners, now conducting his own project, examines Glen and Cyndi, and Shannon soon discovers that his research is geared towards the military, implying he may weaponize his findings, something she does not agree with. Meanwhile, the story jumps back to Katie who meets with Senator Harris again, only for it to be revealed that it is Art as he has her hypnotized. Art spends time with Katie and convinces her to stop contacting Harris and to remain ignorant of her pregnancy. Later Art meets with a couple ready to adopt Katie’s child, and soon after that he meets with Harris to inform him of the arrangements.
Back at the facility, wanting to free the two, Shannon plans Glen and Cyndi’s escape, arranging for the two to drive off to a motel. As they go through with the plan, Shannon returns to work the following day and explores the unfinished levels of the facility only to discover the two never to have left and to have been subjected to further hypnotisation. As Shannon tries to free Glen and Cyndi, the trio make their escape, only for Glen to recall the first time Art hypnotized him, indicating he is still in a trance.
‘Ultrasound’ is a unique sci-fi film that explores reality and perception. The movie is singular in its representation of a high-concept idea and a complex narrative whilst not losing focus on the human element of the story, as we follow Glen and Cyndi and feel with and for them as they are manipulated, scrutinized and studied, seemingly being pushed and shoved along a path designated by others, unable to go their own way.
The film explores the idea of perception, as we go along with Glen as a peculiar and demanding situation is thrust upon him, placing the individual in a complicated situation, as after a night of casual sex he is unexpectedly tied down to what is essentially a lifetime commitment. The film examines Glen’s responses as he is met with increasingly bizarre and difficult situations, showing us how an average person would react to difficult news. Glen decides to take Cyndi in, doing the morally upstanding thing and seemingly growing closer to her. Ultimately we do discover that Art had planned the whole thing out, pushing Glen and Cyndi together so as to release Senator Harris of the responsibility that had resulted from his affair. At the end of the feature, as Glen and Cyndi discuss, the two question their sanity as it is unclear of what the individuals would have done otherwise, had there been a child if they had spent the night together and if there is in fact any emotional connection between the two regardless of that fact.
The film goes a step further, as it is revealed that Art had manipulated Cyndi for over a decade, since their first encounter, convincing her he was the teacher she had had a crush on in high school. The news takes a toll on the woman, making her react violently and seemingly breaking her. However, during the third act, Cyndi is shown to be resilient as she tries to break free of the trance and keeps fighting for her freedom and sanity. The movie gives us food for thought, allowing for poignant questions towards the people we allow into our personal lives and the sway they may have on the decisions and actions we make in out everyday lives and in terms of our long term plans. ‘Ultrasound’ works fabulously at letting the viewers question their own reality with an unrelenting fervour to the final minutes of the film, ramping up the intensity of the confusion our characters go through and delivering a tragic finale as Glen points towards the characters still being manipulated.
The film boasts an excellent cast of Vincent Kartheiser and Chelsea Lopez as Glen and Cyndi respectively, giving us two unassuming individuals who are emotionally played and then used for research purposes. Not entirely incapable however, the two actors go beyond giving us an image of hapless losers, as the two portray a pair of individuals who are shackled to an inescapable situation that is impossible to break out of without outside help. In that vein, Breeda Wool plays Shannon, the diligent researcher with a kind heart. Unable to watch the two subjects suffer and go trough a morally questionable trial, Wool allows the audience to suffer the horrible shock of discovering what is happening to the other two and delivers an emotional and evocative performance.
‘Ultrasound’ is both a visual and narrative treat,- at times the feature plays out in fragmented sequences, indicating that something isn’t quite right, and lets the viewer try to piece everything together, to establish an even flow for the narrative by glossing over the blanks. Ultimately, the underlying point of the film is just that - to show the viewers that we’re oh so capable of constructing a narrative wherever we need to, seemingly unwilling to question inconsistencies we may come across, to ensure an uncomplicated storyline and accept that which life may throw at us. An excellent exercise in philosophy on perception, ‘Ultrasound’ is a can’t miss sci-fi with excellent replay value, delivering more with each viewing.
Score: 4/4
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