First off, I am handily impressed that this was an extremely low budget film. If not for the fact that the vast majority of it takes place basically inside a car, you'd never know just how low.
Right away, however, the film is slowed down in the first 30 minutes. It's a serious detriment threatening to turn away much of the audience.
Once it finally gets to the core of its story, it approaches it with realism and subtlety; lots of focus on technical information and data, radio transmissions, binary code, satellite positioning, all establishing contact with an alien race presumably communicating via a ship close by. No ridiculously over the top things like crystal clear satellite imagery of space ships or an HD livestream of alien faces transmitting to their computer screens.
The film does a decent enough job not letting the advanced technical details drown out the understanding of what is happening, though it doesn't reach a technical level of something like "Primer". A lot of weird decisions are made that come across as either cringeworthy or supremely goofy, such as the overly dramatic orchestral music whenever one of the scientists makes a sudden realization or a sudden tragedy that threatens to doom their work, like "My hard drive is full *dramatic music sting*". It all makes sense in context, but given the largely subdued and realistic nature of the content, it comes across as goofy.
As well, towards the end there comes a "race against the clock" sequence that, without giving anything away, is even more overly dramatic and over the top, while also full of plotholes that seemingly negate the entire need for the urgency of it.
Again without spoiling, the subdued and realistic nature of the film allows itself one major indulgence that pays off spectacularly, with all the right elements of visual and audio coming together to make it work.
If not for these weird design choices with the goofy drama and the "race against the clock" sequence, this would've been near-perfect sci-fi along the lines of stuff like "Contact" or "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
Right away, however, the film is slowed down in the first 30 minutes. It's a serious detriment threatening to turn away much of the audience.
Once it finally gets to the core of its story, it approaches it with realism and subtlety; lots of focus on technical information and data, radio transmissions, binary code, satellite positioning, all establishing contact with an alien race presumably communicating via a ship close by. No ridiculously over the top things like crystal clear satellite imagery of space ships or an HD livestream of alien faces transmitting to their computer screens.
The film does a decent enough job not letting the advanced technical details drown out the understanding of what is happening, though it doesn't reach a technical level of something like "Primer". A lot of weird decisions are made that come across as either cringeworthy or supremely goofy, such as the overly dramatic orchestral music whenever one of the scientists makes a sudden realization or a sudden tragedy that threatens to doom their work, like "My hard drive is full *dramatic music sting*". It all makes sense in context, but given the largely subdued and realistic nature of the content, it comes across as goofy.
As well, towards the end there comes a "race against the clock" sequence that, without giving anything away, is even more overly dramatic and over the top, while also full of plotholes that seemingly negate the entire need for the urgency of it.
Again without spoiling, the subdued and realistic nature of the film allows itself one major indulgence that pays off spectacularly, with all the right elements of visual and audio coming together to make it work.
If not for these weird design choices with the goofy drama and the "race against the clock" sequence, this would've been near-perfect sci-fi along the lines of stuff like "Contact" or "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"