‘Atomica’ Promotional Poster, SyFy FIlms
There’s something about well written small films that intrigues me, and Atomica doesn’t fail when it comes to delivering the sullen and grim ambience one would expect to inhabit a nuclear waste facility.
With no special effects, Atomica wins through strong characters and a well written storyline that forces its audience to consider the potential for the scenes playing out before them to happen in real life. This is the type of science fiction I enjoy—because it’s not too far from reality.
The characters are the strongest element of the film. In a sense, the facility becomes a character of its own—one with an array of traits that forces its viewer to respect and admonish its presence at the same time. The film was directed by Dagen Merrill and was filmed inside of a retired Titan II missile silo, somewhere in the middle of Nowhere, Washington. A radioactive desert land serves at the exterior backdrop for a storyline that provides just the right amount of mystery and anticipation to make the climax rewarding.
The opening scene introduces us to Abby Dixon (Sarah Habel), an ambitious young engineer from the Auxilisun company, who arrives at the “the largest nuclear waste facility in the Southern Hemisphere” to investigate a communications outage. The Auxilisun company is credited with saving the world from a fossil fuels disaster by converting nuclear waste into usable energy via invention of its tri-fission engine.
Via SyFy Films
Upon Abby’s arrival at the facility, she is granted entry by Robinson Scott (Dominic Monaghan), the jumpy janitor who Abby quickly determines is suffering from psychosis, likely acquired from his time in solitude. The only other inhabitant of the facility is the elusive Dr. Darius Zek (Tom Sizemore), the lead scientist,who has been away for some time doing field work in the desert. This concerns Abby due to the high toxicity level in the air outside of the facility. As the mystery unravels, Abby is forced to play a game of “who’s who?”, as she begins to uncover the truth about Auxilisun’s role in some very unsavory activities.
Atomica is a worth watching film about choices, and how the choices we make now affect our future environment. It urges us to respect humanity by protecting and preserving the most essential resource we have for survival; planet earth.
Atomica is currently playing in select theatres and is also available on Video on Demand.
Tiara Janté is a writer & author from north eastern Pennsylvania. She is both a Staff Writer & Social Media Editor at BlackSci-Fi.com, as well as Co-Editor of Black Girl Magic Lit Mag. A self-confessed social media junkie, when she isn’t online or working on her many projects, she enjoys reading a good thriller, observing hip hop beefs on Twitter, taking long naps and spending time with her hubby and 6 children. Connect with her via her Website as well as her Twitter, Facebook & Instagram pages.
