Where are the Aliens? The xenomorphs? This isn’t a Ridley Scott movie? Oh, you could have fooled me! If there’s one compliment I can offer this movie, it’s that it is so professional, so stylized, so futuristic that it’s on par with the most popular movies from Ridley Scott. Writer, director and producer Maurice Haeems and cinematographer David Kruta should be proud of themselves for this achievement. Chimera is going to be one of thee science fiction titles to watch for in 2018, and it’s going to be a serious contender for numerous awards whether it hits the film festival circuit or goes straight-to-DVD. It’s a beast. A crystal clear, suspense amplifier and a stunning work of art not typically seen in this genre of film. Yeah, I guess I liked it!
Chimera takes a stark and haunting look at the unethical parallels of science and medicine. A previous press release from ChicaArt Public Relations lists the synopsis as, “the story of Dr. Quint, a brilliant but disturbed scientist who must freeze his children alive in order to arrest the progression of their deadly genetic disease, while he races against time to cure them by unlocking the secrets of immortality encoded within the DNA of the Turritopsis jellyfish.” Right from the jump, viewers will be aware that the fight in this movie isn’t against external forces, so much as the antagonists are inner struggles against disease and the turmoil between deciding right from wrong. Could you sacrifice your children for the sake of the greater good? Could you look at yourself in the mirror afterward?
Chimera was brought to film under Praxis Media Ventures and Potion mixers Motion Pictures by producers Maurice Haeems, Jay Sitaram and Eric B. Fleischman. Henry Ian Cusick, Jenna Harrison, Karishma Ahluwalia, Erika Ervin, Raviv E. Haeems, Kaavya Jayaram, Jennifer Gjulameti and Kathleen Quinlan star in this upsetting, unsuspecting, suspense drama from writer/director Maurice Haeems. It features cinematography from David Kruta and post-production editing from Fritz Feick & Brian Scofield. This movie was a production, simple but filled with so many aspects that needed to be carried out correctly to be super effective. And the cast and crew here succeeded on every single level. Above average camera work, fantastical and enthralling musical scores, big budget CGI, proper practical effects, realistic set designs, capable and calculated performances from the entire cast, and they even found time to fit a dog into the movie. Yay for puppies!
I could honestly rave about this movie all day, and it’s not even in the category that I typically surround myself with. Maurice Haeems was just so smart with every decision he made and it paid off in the most incredible way. Hell, even fitting outdoor scenes into the movie every couple of paces helped to relieve the sense of claustrophobia that the lab creates, only to drag the viewer back into the trenches of despair moments later. That’s how you tell a story. That’s how you move an audience to feel an emotion. I hope that Chimera can nab a theatrical release of some sort because it deserves the chance to be seen in full capacity. It deserves the exposure and any forthcoming praise. I can’t think of any criticisms because I’m just so blown away. Well done. Final Score: 8.5 out of 10.
