On Sunday June 23, filmmaker Ben Wydeven debuts Quantum of Vengeance, a locally-produced time travel short film. Shot around the Madison and Sun Prairie areas, the short is an exemplar of the local filmmaking scene, mining the collective talents of area creatives and featuring among its performances actor Tim Towne and WPR producer (and “Zombeatles” enthusiast) Doug Gordon. Oh, it’s also a pretty fun time.
The film follows Emily Freeman (Alissa Kulinski) who, while studying under the tutelage of her jittery professor (Gordon), is tempted to manipulate time travel to avenge the mysterious murder of her father (Towne). As its title bluntly suggests, Quantum of Vengeance is up front about its aim, presenting a cautionary tale on the perils of manipulating the past. Wydeven and co-writer Max Blaska don’t shy away from the ideas either, as their script considers several logical leaps through a cyclical story structure.
That story is part of what makes Quantum succeed as a genre picture — and it is most definitely a genre picture. Wydeven, whose previous efforts include the horror short The Medium, situates Quantum of Vengeance alongside pop elements like Back to the Future’s Doc Brown while including more overt nods to cult sci-fi in Dr. Samuel Beckett and Quantum Leap. The time machine itself, fashioned from a rickety tanning bed, chopped up switchboards and circuitry, feels lived in and used. Maybe it’s the machine’s violent rush of air or the puffs of fog it belches out, but we aren’t meant to fully believe the Professor’s dog Hawking will make it out of a trial run in one piece.
At times, Quantum of Vengeance’s B-movie aspects drag down its darker bent, but Wydeven’s camera keeps the story together, returning to several effective visual echoes throughout. Likely drawing from his experience in horror, he also maintains taut suspense in several key moments, helped in part by the strong sound design and scoring from a slew of local musicians and artists. And it’s really the local talent that make Quantum of Vengeance worth checking out. Doug Gordon steals every scene he’s in with a comedic off-kilter delivery, and Quantum’s credits are a veritable who’s who of Madison’s indie film scene.
- A DVD release party makes its way to the High Noon Saloon this Sunday afternoon.
- Watch the Quantum of Vengeance trailer for a preview