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Cast: James Cable, Jim Covault, Sandra Fish, Jeremy Schwartz, Matthew Tompkins, Robert Urutia, Laurel Whitsett
A genetically-engineered virus, meant for good, but never before tested on humans, has found a host. This is the story of four desperate people who, in their search for medical answers, were exposed to this created virus, called radiant, and the solitary lab assistant who becomes their only witness.
The story here is a captivating one, four people three of which are accidentally infected by this man made virus which is suppose to kill off other viruses but hasn't been tested enough to be sure of what it really does. As they wonder and wait in fear to see what will happen they decide to flee into the desert rather than become guinea pigs in a lab somewhere and wait it out to see what happens without infecting other innocent people. I have seen a some other reviews for Radiant that suggest that the film is boring, well I am not sure which film they watched but I found nothing boring about the film at all. Granted this isn't your typical Hollywood zombie like film but it was never made to be that type of film. Instead this is a character driven sci-fi thriller that instead shows a much more realistic take on what could possibly happen in case something like this were to ever happen. In spots you can see where the film suffers a bit from it's low budget but over-all the settings and acting give the film a realistic feel, the cast did such a terrific job, I was taken in by their characters and really began to care for them. The story is slow but it is deliberate, you are not getting a horror film here but instead a science fiction film that is just that, a film that is as captivating as it is thought-provoking. Considering the budget here Radiant is big achievement, it creates a true sci-fi, the kind that are never made anymore and it does it well from it's settings to it's soundtrack which helps too create the perfect mood. This is Writer/Director, Steve Mahone's debut film and if this is any indication of the kind of cinema we are going to see from this man then I certainly look forward to what he has to offer next. Do yourself a favor and pick up Radiant when it comes to DVD on July 15th. You can find Radiant and many other great titles at R Square Films website HERE. If you like sci-fi then you need to check this film out, it will have you thinking long after it is over.
Released by R Squared Films
**** Out Of *****