Review of 984: Prisoner of the Future

In a grim future, affluent businessman Tom Weston (a fine and sympathetic performance by Stephen Markle) gets taken prisoner and jailed in a dismal penitentiary for some sort of crimes he committed against the government. Despite being subjected to constant physical and psychological torture by the sadistic and eccentric warden (well played with lip-smacking wicked relish by Don Franks), Weston refuses to break and clings to the hope that he will one day be released so he can be reunited with his wife Margaret (lovely Michele Chicoine). Director Tibor Takacs and writers Stephen Zoller and Peter Chapman do an able job of crafting an intriguing, if at times too frustratingly vague narrative and present a powerfully downbeat, paranoid, and nightmarish vision of a dark Orwellian future that's both effective and unsettling in equal measure (the harsh oppressiveness of the prison environment in particular is captured in a strong and vivid manner). Markle and Franks do sterling work in the lead roles, with sturdy support from Stan Wilson as the warden's brutish assistant Jeffries. The central theme about the strength of the human will and its extraordinary capacity for overcoming the worst possible ordeals is both touching and provocative. Alar Kivilio's cinematography makes neat use of stark lighting and overhead camera angles. The surprise bummer ending packs a devastating punch. Although marred somewhat by the modest budget -- the robot security guards on roller skates are alas more silly than scary -- and a muddled plot, it's nonetheless an unjustly forgotten sleeper that's well worth checking out.