Atomica is a futuristic sci-fi thriller from Syfy Films, which was released in select theaters on March 17th and on VOD and Digital HD on March 21st. The film was directed by Dagen Merrill and written by Kevin Burke, Federico Fernandez-Armesto, and Adam Gyngell.
It’s almost a decade into the future and a company has found a way to convert nuclear waste into energy. When a large nuclear power plant’s communications go offline, safety inspector Abby Dixon (Sarah Habel) travels to investigate. At the plant, she encounters a maintenance worker, Robinson (Dominic Monaghan), and a scientist, Zek (Tom Sizemore). Robinson has developed psychosis from being alone for so long while Zek is suffering from radiation after being in the toxic air of the desert. Abby has reasons to distrust both men and tries to discover the truth.
The Syfy Channel has an aesthetic found in most of its shows and films, which centers around big, flashy ideas on a budget. Although Atomica isn’t an exception, the setting was authentic and elevated the film quite a bit. In my recent interview with actress Sarah Habel, she described it as “an abandoned underground nuclear missile launching site… 70 feet underground, 40 degrees.” It made for an unsettling and dreary atmosphere that would have been difficult to replicate in a studio.
The story was well written and featured fun twist and turns. I truly didn’t know who or what to believe and felt like I was going through this investigation with Abby. It is always a pleasure to see both Sizemore and Monaghan on-screen, with Monaghan delivering the strongest performance within the film. The performance from Sizemore was exactly what we expect – a gruff guy who leans towards being on the shady side. Habel had a major challenge in front of her, carrying the lead role and appearing in just about every scene. Although her acting was a bit inconsistent at times, there were strong moments throughout.
Atomica isn’t a big budget sci-fi film with all of the polish, but it delivers good performances and an entertaining mystery. If you enjoy sci-fi and Syfy Channel films, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Good SciFi. Like it…