Okay where to start? They start with an "intelligent" girl escaping form an escape room simulation. Put her in a torn sack with an open top and she falls asleep? Why do people with a gag on their mouth and hands tied in front not just remove the gag and untie their feet? You are tied with leather straps in a workshop full of tools and metal objects and you decide to sit on the floor for 24 hours? And why didn't they drive off in the camper at the start (that was blocking the road)? You have a disabled car with half a tank and a camper with no gas and you need to travel 20 miles? hello? gas into camper??? Also running thru the woods has the kid wearing sneakers in some shots and barefoot in others? And when you are surrounded by woods and run out of a house being chased, don't run into the empty field... this movie totally destroyed Darwins theory. (Don't get me started on not picking up the rifle when it almost falls on top of you...)
88 Reviews
Extremely Familiar Themes in a Vague & Uninspired Script
TwistedContent15 November 2019
Can't say I expected a lot, but definitely a little more than I got. "Radioflash" is a tale of a young teenage girl and her challenges and adventures after an EMP kills power for more than 200 million people - it's a tale of many familiar themes, cliche characters, a familiar take on everything featuered. In other words, "Radioflash" falls short of everything but acting.
The first 5 minutes of "Radioflash" are the best its got - mildly intriguing, good looking, good sounding, maybe even the only original-ish thing in this flick. After that we jump into the 90 minutes of something that feels like a lamer recreation of many other known and better movies, and, in retrospect, those first 5 minutes provided only a very vague point in relation to the rest of the movie. So we start watching Reese's and her father Chris's journey to the girls grandpa through the now apocalyptic land & the many troubles and poeple they encounter along the way. Practically every plot device, every theme, the characters, even the technicalities (atmosphere building, painfully cliche cinematic sentimentalism, etc.) feel generic & very familiar, which results in a high predictability factor. We go from every apocalypse-starting movie ever to any rural survival thriller ever, to a "Wrong Turn" type of story without the disfigurations and any horror elements. One thing that didn't underwhelm me was the acting, both our main heroine and the supporting cast did their best, or so I feel. What truly grinds my gears is the cinematography, the fact that even the technical aspects are generic-feeling. Don't get me wrong, it looks good, it's just... so very routine.
Yes, that's how "Radioflash" felt for the most part - routine. I'm pretty sure it's going to find a slightly better reactions from the more average movie goers, but all the while trying to look for and enjoy qualities of "Radioflash", I struggled not to be bored. Boredom is the worst thing any movie can offer. My rating: 4/10.
The first 5 minutes of "Radioflash" are the best its got - mildly intriguing, good looking, good sounding, maybe even the only original-ish thing in this flick. After that we jump into the 90 minutes of something that feels like a lamer recreation of many other known and better movies, and, in retrospect, those first 5 minutes provided only a very vague point in relation to the rest of the movie. So we start watching Reese's and her father Chris's journey to the girls grandpa through the now apocalyptic land & the many troubles and poeple they encounter along the way. Practically every plot device, every theme, the characters, even the technicalities (atmosphere building, painfully cliche cinematic sentimentalism, etc.) feel generic & very familiar, which results in a high predictability factor. We go from every apocalypse-starting movie ever to any rural survival thriller ever, to a "Wrong Turn" type of story without the disfigurations and any horror elements. One thing that didn't underwhelm me was the acting, both our main heroine and the supporting cast did their best, or so I feel. What truly grinds my gears is the cinematography, the fact that even the technical aspects are generic-feeling. Don't get me wrong, it looks good, it's just... so very routine.
Yes, that's how "Radioflash" felt for the most part - routine. I'm pretty sure it's going to find a slightly better reactions from the more average movie goers, but all the while trying to look for and enjoy qualities of "Radioflash", I struggled not to be bored. Boredom is the worst thing any movie can offer. My rating: 4/10.
Not exciting,, but worth watching.
reddiemurf812 April 2020
We're all completely consumed by our devices (in my case, I'm on my phone),, what if all of the sudden the stopped working (no power!!!).
Well,, that's how this one starts. From there it's a treacherous journey of a teenage girl and her father, trying to get from civilization in chaos to her grandfather in the mountains.
Like I said,, it's worth watching. So go watch it!!!
Like I said,, it's worth watching. So go watch it!!!
Long, drawn out, and boring
vap0270317 November 2019
Omitting all of the scientific fallacies here (such as a silicon-based iPad and other things working after an EMP), this film just fails to keep the viewer's attention with any action. If a teenage girl running through the forest for 90 minutes is your thing, then enjoy.
What complete dross.
Javin30 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was just utterly frustrating to sit through. Something that should have been so easy to get right (post-EMP world) just somehow managed to actively get EVERYTHING wrong.
Spoilers follow.
The movie opens with the main protagonist, a teenage girl, drowning" in a strange room trying to figure out a puzzle with the numerous telephones on the wall as the room fills with water. Ultimately, this turns out to be a VR video game. The girl is a game programmer who is working on her own video game, which is "coming along" as she tells her dad. This plot line is then dropped and literally never mentioned again.
What appears to be a magical EMP fries the electrical grid while leaving laptops, cell phones, and cars functional. At this point, you think you're going to be treated to a movie about the post apocalyptic story, exploring the intricacies of life without electricity.
Well too bad, Nancy, the entire plot will ignore the fact that literally in less than 24 hours, people are losing their minds, but rather this story is going to pivot into West Virginia "Deliverance" for no particular reason.
And that's it. That's the movie. From watching the main protagonist make an AC radio work by plugging it up to a DC battery, to watching her make exactly zero attempt to escape when loosely tied up for days, the entire show was just terrible. We kept expecting the "twist" to be that she was in a video game that she was going to wake up from since every character in the movie made all the worst decisions until the credits rolled rather abruptly.
Which was a good thing. The best part of the movie was that it was over.
Spoilers follow.
The movie opens with the main protagonist, a teenage girl, drowning" in a strange room trying to figure out a puzzle with the numerous telephones on the wall as the room fills with water. Ultimately, this turns out to be a VR video game. The girl is a game programmer who is working on her own video game, which is "coming along" as she tells her dad. This plot line is then dropped and literally never mentioned again.
What appears to be a magical EMP fries the electrical grid while leaving laptops, cell phones, and cars functional. At this point, you think you're going to be treated to a movie about the post apocalyptic story, exploring the intricacies of life without electricity.
Well too bad, Nancy, the entire plot will ignore the fact that literally in less than 24 hours, people are losing their minds, but rather this story is going to pivot into West Virginia "Deliverance" for no particular reason.
And that's it. That's the movie. From watching the main protagonist make an AC radio work by plugging it up to a DC battery, to watching her make exactly zero attempt to escape when loosely tied up for days, the entire show was just terrible. We kept expecting the "twist" to be that she was in a video game that she was going to wake up from since every character in the movie made all the worst decisions until the credits rolled rather abruptly.
Which was a good thing. The best part of the movie was that it was over.
I think the best thing going for this is the Cinematography.. and sometimes the acting..
FishBibble22 February 2020
What is unbearable, is the script. The script reads like a person who can in fact read what an EMP is, but is incapable of understanding exactly what it really means.
At first I thought the script was going for a style over substance cyberpunk-ish vibe, then everything she opened her mouth on something it made me realize, nope, they just have no clue at all about technology. or science.
The cinematography is pretty good for the budget, at least I am assuming a low budget. Either way, it is nice to look at, nothing ground breaking, but solid sci-fi blue/orange thing that generally works well.
Some of the acting is actually decent, again for the budget of the film. But not much to go on in the script.
But yea, technology wise, the author is a bit of a hack...
At first I thought the script was going for a style over substance cyberpunk-ish vibe, then everything she opened her mouth on something it made me realize, nope, they just have no clue at all about technology. or science.
The cinematography is pretty good for the budget, at least I am assuming a low budget. Either way, it is nice to look at, nothing ground breaking, but solid sci-fi blue/orange thing that generally works well.
Some of the acting is actually decent, again for the budget of the film. But not much to go on in the script.
But yea, technology wise, the author is a bit of a hack...
it seems all the bad reviews didn't really pay attention
natcalgary27 February 2020
As i read down the bad reviews more than half of them are stating things that didn't happen or they missed.
No wonder you think the movie is bad if you miss major parts.
Anyways the movie wasn't great nor was it bad.
5.5
Anyways the movie wasn't great nor was it bad.
5.5
Terrible Script
WncTrippN25 February 2020
Nice cinematography and editing and better acting than expected.
However, that is where the compliments stop.
There was so much wrong with this film that made me wish the movie would end already, including obvious mistakes with facts about what an EMP would actually do/destroy, holes in the story, continuity, and strange randomness. All of which stemmed from a terrible script.
What's the point
zoe_renee211 December 2019
Starts promising but fails towards the end.
deloudelouvain4 September 2020
Radioflash is one of those movies that starts promising but in the end it won't be remembered at all. In the beginning I was intrigued by the story, thought I would rate it with an eight as the cinematography wasn't bad at all and the acting was decent as well. Then the story got a bit sloppy but I was still wondering where they would go to with it, my scoring went from an eight stars rating to a seven, but by the end it just failed completely, the story got really nowhere and it felt like they were too lazy to write something decent. Instead it became a bit ridiculous so a six stars rating is more than generous. Too bad because it had potential in the beginning. I still enjoyed watching it though, mostly because of the good cinematography, but it clearly could and should have been much better.
yikes
alsobillanderson11 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The only thing that could possible make this movie worse, is if Shailene Woodley had been in the lead role. The plot is bad, but even this plot didn't deserve this horrible level of script writing.Powering the HAM radio with a car battery and no inverter? Full disclosure I wrote this review at 47 minutes in because I wasn't sure how much longer, if any, I would last.
Spoiler: Even the fox eating out of Grandpa's sink elicited no questions.
Spoiler: Even the fox eating out of Grandpa's sink elicited no questions.
Enjoy a dip into low-tech survivalist horror
Kamurai2528 April 2020
Great watch, want to watch again, and can recommend.
I was honestly upset at first (had just watched "Play or Die", don't) and thought it was another escape room movie, then I thought it was going to be another "Ready Player One" (worth checking out), but quickly turns into an apocalyptic / new dystopian movie in a good way.
Finally! We get a story from the people that left early enough during a crisis....and it still goes inevitably wrong because of something stupid.
To be fair if these sorts of things didn't happen, then we wouldn't have movies at all. The point is that they do an excellent job of giving our character obstacles and developing the adventure around those.
They definitely get the intensity right for these scenes, they make for great realistic horror.
I was honestly upset at first (had just watched "Play or Die", don't) and thought it was another escape room movie, then I thought it was going to be another "Ready Player One" (worth checking out), but quickly turns into an apocalyptic / new dystopian movie in a good way.
Finally! We get a story from the people that left early enough during a crisis....and it still goes inevitably wrong because of something stupid.
To be fair if these sorts of things didn't happen, then we wouldn't have movies at all. The point is that they do an excellent job of giving our character obstacles and developing the adventure around those.
They definitely get the intensity right for these scenes, they make for great realistic horror.
fairly decent
kebar22 November 2019
Very slow moving movie, but I enjoyed it. Good acting. I usually find teenagers in movies slightly obnoxious and self-centered , so it was refreshing to see calm, level headed and respectful youth depicted here, contrary to one review I read about "teenagers running through the woods screaming", I saw none of that.
Thriller on a Disney level
timesniffer17 November 2019
Did this start out with a different script?
penrosevans8 October 2020
It's like they started with a different script then ran out of time, daylight, money, good weather. I REALLY would have liked to have seen the original in that case.
As it is, too many weird things that don't make sense.
More like a kids version
borninthewrongcentury28 February 2020
This was just so lacking and boring and so many holes. Nothing imaginative or exciting at all. I FF through most of it. It's seriously like a disney or kids version of an apocalyptic film. I guess if I went into it with that in mind it would have lived up to its expectations. Otherwise it's a pass and a bit of a waste of a decent cast.
Interesting Premise filled with abandoned ideas
rmmil17 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I have no real idea of where this film was headed, even after watching it.
First the good, it is reasonably acted (with one major exception), and you can tell it was shot with a slightly-higher-than-average budget (for this film type), with a rather impressive / recognizable cast, and polished set pieces.
For some reason that ends up meaning absolutely nothing to the rest of this plot, the film opens with our young protagonist making her way thru an extremely advanced VR game. In retrospect, I'm not sure if this was done as a "red herring", if it just "looked cool", if it was to show the "smarts" of the lead, or what, exactly? Based on the film's synopsis offered by the film itself, I'm guessing this was done to show how "smart" the main character was, and to let you know this was taking place "slightly" in the future, because beyond the opening shot, the VR stuff is completely abandoned the rest of the film.
Or is it? I feel like this film is not as deep as I was trying to give it credit for, but the constant appearance of a "dark guy" throughout the film, which is never clearly explained, makes me wonder. A great version of this film, that may have existed at one point (explaining the opening more), was that this ENTIRE movie is just an extremely advanced VR simulation, a "game" the lead protagonist is playing. This would explain the "not exactly broken up" stance the lead takes after her dad dies, and the incredibly hammy overacting by characters late in the film. Because it is the events late in the film that really make me WANT to believe this whole thing is a VR simulation.
All plot pieces are chugging along nicely, until the lead and her dad happen upon a miserly old chap who looks like he was plucked out of a video game, and then he says some really stupid stuff about "hill people" and their dangers that made me start to think..."Hmm, was this a game all along?" And then some time later the protagonist gets involved with another group, that contains (yet another) "hill person" who has some of the hammiest, most poorly delivered lines I've ever seen. Either the actress was drunk when she was giving her lines, or she was told to act like she was. Anyway, more evidence that "it was all a dream"...and then, it's just...not.
Yep, the lead reaches gramps with "wild boy" survivor in tow, and all is well in the world again. I truly feel like someone wrote part of this film with the intention that "it was all a dream / game", hence the "dark guy" who shows up occasionally, for no reason, but maybe someone saw how poorly "Serenity" (Anne Hathaway film) did, and so they excised the "game" subplot. I don't know, because without that plot device, the "dark guy" makes no sense, other than the lead to yell "I'm not afraid of you!" at him. Okay. Cool
As I said, good promise, good ideas, that went absolutely no where in the end.
First the good, it is reasonably acted (with one major exception), and you can tell it was shot with a slightly-higher-than-average budget (for this film type), with a rather impressive / recognizable cast, and polished set pieces.
For some reason that ends up meaning absolutely nothing to the rest of this plot, the film opens with our young protagonist making her way thru an extremely advanced VR game. In retrospect, I'm not sure if this was done as a "red herring", if it just "looked cool", if it was to show the "smarts" of the lead, or what, exactly? Based on the film's synopsis offered by the film itself, I'm guessing this was done to show how "smart" the main character was, and to let you know this was taking place "slightly" in the future, because beyond the opening shot, the VR stuff is completely abandoned the rest of the film.
Or is it? I feel like this film is not as deep as I was trying to give it credit for, but the constant appearance of a "dark guy" throughout the film, which is never clearly explained, makes me wonder. A great version of this film, that may have existed at one point (explaining the opening more), was that this ENTIRE movie is just an extremely advanced VR simulation, a "game" the lead protagonist is playing. This would explain the "not exactly broken up" stance the lead takes after her dad dies, and the incredibly hammy overacting by characters late in the film. Because it is the events late in the film that really make me WANT to believe this whole thing is a VR simulation.
All plot pieces are chugging along nicely, until the lead and her dad happen upon a miserly old chap who looks like he was plucked out of a video game, and then he says some really stupid stuff about "hill people" and their dangers that made me start to think..."Hmm, was this a game all along?" And then some time later the protagonist gets involved with another group, that contains (yet another) "hill person" who has some of the hammiest, most poorly delivered lines I've ever seen. Either the actress was drunk when she was giving her lines, or she was told to act like she was. Anyway, more evidence that "it was all a dream"...and then, it's just...not.
Yep, the lead reaches gramps with "wild boy" survivor in tow, and all is well in the world again. I truly feel like someone wrote part of this film with the intention that "it was all a dream / game", hence the "dark guy" who shows up occasionally, for no reason, but maybe someone saw how poorly "Serenity" (Anne Hathaway film) did, and so they excised the "game" subplot. I don't know, because without that plot device, the "dark guy" makes no sense, other than the lead to yell "I'm not afraid of you!" at him. Okay. Cool
As I said, good promise, good ideas, that went absolutely no where in the end.
Better than I thought it would be
victronix01-180-70711017 November 2019
I thought it would be crap based on the comments here, but I actually liked it. I stopped for a while and got up to cook dinner but pretty soon I wanted to finish watching it, -- that hasn't been the case for a lot of movies I see recently on amazon or netflix. The majority of the movies on those are duds. I watched it for free on putlocker. It kept me interested. I did fast forward through some of the more predictable parts, and the last quarter of the movie was sort of stupid with the hillbilly family, but the ending wasn't predictable, and I thought overall it was an interesting foray into the potential events after a EMP.
Pointless
bitbucketchip26 August 2021
There is no plot. A girl runs through the woods encountering an assortment of Deliverance rejects on her way to her grandfather's cabin. What's the point? Stories like this usually have our hero trekking to a promised land. There's no promised land here. Just grandpa's cabin. Even if she makes it the pair will surely be quickly overcome by more of the same psychopaths she encountered on the way. Good luck with that.
Four stars for the occasional decent performance from actors given nothing to work with.
Four stars for the occasional decent performance from actors given nothing to work with.
Going for it
kosmasp23 November 2021
Dominic Monaghan ... as a father. I have to admit when I first saw him with the main character, I thought they were love interests. But the movie is not build that way. Generally speaking really good cast. A bit of apocalyptic flavor thrown in for good measure - and some road movie cliches to keep you on your toes.
Not a bad movie at all, but not one that will excite many either I reckon. Some intersting twists and turns, that I think most can tell and see coming - if they actually think about it. I personally just watched it and went with the flow.
Not a bad movie at all, but not one that will excite many either I reckon. Some intersting twists and turns, that I think most can tell and see coming - if they actually think about it. I personally just watched it and went with the flow.
Garbage
elrmelon-826-24032519 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This cast gave me high hopes but in the end none of this movie made any sense. Why stop at a gas station? Why take the river and not the road? Why did the old man pull over to talk to a stranger? How did the dad make up for the huge lead they had on him on the escape? I could go on and on and quite frankly I feel this director owes me 2 hours of time. If you enjoy brushing your teeth with crap you will love this movie.
Great film on the edge moments
darren-53-77192327 August 2020
Girl meets to her grandfather after blackout !
saptesh78628 May 2020
A young girl starts his journey to her grandfathers' house with her father after a blackout due to power down. During their journey they face various difficult situations sometimes it costs to live too ! It is an emotional thriller. End is expected. Lots of thrills and tension, but between parts seems trailing somewhere. Acting by leading lady is good and perfect. Old lady and his son in jungle is terrifying characters and that situation looks realistic. All over movie is full of thriller and realism. Watchable at once.
Pretty BAD
pipo-17 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I like adventure movies, action movies and even some bad movies but this one is really bad.
1. The father acts like a child and has no skills or knowledge, and also dies from a bruised rib, or scratch. (the daughter is also pretty rude to the nice man that helped them), also he kept calling her sweetie, honey, babe?, touchy feely got repetitive quick. 2. The daughter acts more like the father but is the know it all kid, except it doesn't help her she quickly becomes stupid without daddy and some scenes she has various tools but chooses just to sit still, and some scenes like oh were being chased by a creep killer, but lets stop to eat, and clean faces, WTF. 3. The movie cover shows a Bear chasing them onto the log which kinda intrigued me into watching this movie, I thought it would be wilderness survival genre type movie, except that scene is missing from the movie, yes there is a short scene with a bear but it gets killed.
The good, I thought the forest people were good actors (father and the mother), the abused kid was bad, acted stupid but suddenly got educated, and polite? when helping her......right
The scenery was ok.
I came to the conclusion she was in some kind of vr simulation at the end but who knows this movie had a 2 cent script.
I have seen worse movies, this one is watchable but not great.
1. The father acts like a child and has no skills or knowledge, and also dies from a bruised rib, or scratch. (the daughter is also pretty rude to the nice man that helped them), also he kept calling her sweetie, honey, babe?, touchy feely got repetitive quick. 2. The daughter acts more like the father but is the know it all kid, except it doesn't help her she quickly becomes stupid without daddy and some scenes she has various tools but chooses just to sit still, and some scenes like oh were being chased by a creep killer, but lets stop to eat, and clean faces, WTF. 3. The movie cover shows a Bear chasing them onto the log which kinda intrigued me into watching this movie, I thought it would be wilderness survival genre type movie, except that scene is missing from the movie, yes there is a short scene with a bear but it gets killed.
The good, I thought the forest people were good actors (father and the mother), the abused kid was bad, acted stupid but suddenly got educated, and polite? when helping her......right
The scenery was ok.
I came to the conclusion she was in some kind of vr simulation at the end but who knows this movie had a 2 cent script.
I have seen worse movies, this one is watchable but not great.
What an insult to mountain people
lovethesun11 September 2020
A large portion of this movie is set in the Yak valley of Northwest Montana of which I am very familiar with being born and raised in Montana. Having the whacko family look like they stepped right out of Deliverance is insulting beyond belief.
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