Impressive, Cool Cyberpunk Short — MECH: HUMAN TRIALS
About a week ago an interesting viral-marketing “teaser” for a short film titled "MECH: Human Trials" surfaced all over the interwebs. It appeared under the guise of a PSA warning people against the use of a new street drug known as MECH. The drug is supposed to speed up recovery, but things seem too good to be true for the unfortunate users.
This week the short film by director Patrick Kalyn went live online. In the six-minute short we see Luke, played by Steve Baran, beginning to lose touch with humanity as he is consumed by the drug. The side-effects of MECH apparently include destroying human tissue and replacing it with mechanics. He begins a search for the mysterious suppliers of the drug in order to try to save himself before he becomes more machine than man.
I had the pleasure of talking with the director of the film, who put in an ungodly number of hours to make his dream project a reality. He had this to say about the process:
“With 'Mech' I wanted to do a character piece, something lo-fi - not many visual effects and could be done for almost no budget. I location scouted around some of the sketchiest parts of Vancouver to find the right aesthetic for the film... Nailing the edit was one of the most difficult parts and the most laborious. But that's where the film is made so we didn't want to rush it. All in all it was about a 9 month journey from the initial concept,writing the script and the final film. All this was done with a larger, feature film in mind that I want to make. 'Mech' is an entire universe I want to explore.”
Despite being such a low-budget project, this film has a serious high-budget feel to it. Bursting at the seams with sweeping aerials of Vancouver, fantastic cinematography from Cliff Hokanson, Hollywood grade visual effects, and a killer soundtrack produced by Sam Hulick (composer on the Mass Effect series) and up-and-comer Nick Borrego. It is no wonder that it is currently being shopped around to studios for a feature-length adaptation. Even if we don’t see this film on the silver screen, I think it is safe to say we haven’t heard the last from these impressive artists.
If you want to see the film for yourself check it out below. It’ll be six minutes of your time VERY well spent. I also included the awesome PSA “teaser.”