2307: WINTER'S DREAM

2017 | DIR. JOEY CURTIS | REVIEW BY GLENN COCHRANE.

2307: WINTER'S DREAM is a direct-to-video film that has the ambition of a up-scale Hollywood blockbuster - and yet a sense that director, Joey Curtis, is well aware of the limitations. By borrowing heavily from similarly themed films he has created a patch-work story that relies on influence and homage.

​As the title suggests the film is set in the year 2307 where the Earth is 300 years into a new ice age and all surviving humans live beneath the ground. With next to no genuine man-power to drive the failing society scientists have bio-engineered a humanoid species with a tolerance for subzero temperatures. When one of the humanoids threatens an uprising the humans assemble a team of soldiers to defeat the impending rebellion. What ensues is a fast-paced expedition that pits the heroes against a merciless enemy and an unforgiving environment.

​From the get go 2307: A WINTERS DREAM creates a familiar impression and evokes memories of some of cinema's most beloved properties. My mind immediately turned to John Carpenter's THE THING and Ridley Scott's BLADERUNNER, and with its subterranean production design I couldn't help but think of Albert Pyun's ALIEN FROM LA. In fact Pyun's influence seems (to me) to be the strongest of them all. I imagine if it weren't for his poor health Pyun would be making films of this calibre. Its story of rogue humanoids and their post-apocalyptic environment is lifted straight out of the Book-of-Pyun, of which numerous titles can be cited. RADIOACTIVE DREAMS for example, or NEMESIS and KNIGHTS. But I digress...

Joey Curtis's take on a reliable formula is a commendable effort, and despite the hindrance of budget restraints he has crafted a good-looking film that employs a good balance of CGI with practical effects... although some of that CGI leaves much to be desired. The cast are all decent, with the film's co-writer Paul Sidhu serving as the film's lead. The script is dependable but not exceptional, and it walks the three-act structure reasonably well. With so many aforementioned titles influencing the narrative the film hopscotches between genres and tropes. At one moment the characters are pitted against a science-fiction driven environment, and the next moment they are knee-deep in a classic Western setting. These scenic transitions could have easily derailed the story and yet they keep the flow engaging and viscerally arresting.

With a direct-to-video release limiting the film's reach, and a mostly unknown cast curbing its appeal 2307: WINTER'S DREAM will arrive under the radar, and while it may be far from perfect it is a movie that genre fans should check out regardless. There's never enough winter-ravished post-apocalyptic movies as far as I'm concerned.  ​