High Noon California
The phrase “less is more” can be applied to a lot of things in our everyday life, whether it’s a day job, our wardrobe, or the plot to a movie. In this case, it’s the plot to a fantastic movie viewed a few months ago from the comfort of my couch. Now everyone can experience the low key thrills of the horror flick Prodigy as it is a part of Netflix’s August crop of new additions.
Based around a young girl with out-of-this-world powers being interrogated for the entirety of the movie, Prodigy is a mind game — a mind game that parallels past and current fan favorites such as Carrie and Stranger Things in that the lead character is a young girl with supernatural powers who could do some major damage if one landed on her bad side.
While the premise is nothing new, the movie was a relief in that it failed (in a good way) at being drawn out. Hints of backstory both from her side and the protagonist’s don’t cloud up the present day plot taking place within those unsettling four walls. You’re there with them, you’re terrified with them, you’re questioning how in the hell things are going to turn out in real time.
When we talked to Alex Haughey about the movie in March earlier this year, he had this to say about not making this a three-hour film: “We were working with such a short script, and on such a tight schedule, that we didn’t have the luxury of excess scenes. I think this worked out well for the film, as it became imperative to identify the function and importance of each scene to the overall narrative. What we did have was a lot of dialogue-heavy scenes, several of which were cut down significantly in the editing process to keep the pace moving at a good clip.”
A solid effort on an indie level, horror fans will appreciate the time and energy spent making this new addition to the Netflix realm. You can catch Prodigy streaming starting August 22, 2018.
