Rotor DR1, Blu-ray (2015)

by | Oct 30, 2015 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Rotor DR1, Blu-ray (2015)

Cast: Christian Kapper, Natalie Welch, Thomas E. Nicholson
Director: Chad Kapper
Studio: Cinema Libre CLS51210 [10/20/15]
Video: 2.35:1 for 16:9 1080p HD color
Audio: English DD 5.1 & 2.0
Subtitles: Closed captionings
Extras: Deleted/Alternate scenes, The Making Of… featurette, Director’s commentary track, Outtakes, Trailers
Length: 99 min.
Rating: ****

The 100% rave reviews on the Amazon site would seem to indicate this is a sure winner, but at least one of them is by someone who personally helped make the film, and Rotten Tomatoes hasn’t reviewed it yet. It is certainly the end result of a daring new approach to making a feature film.

There are nearly 7000 drone fans who are members of Community Collaborated Entertainment, and Rotor DR1 was originally made as just one episode for Net uploading. The audience of fans was asked what they wanted the characters in the film to do next; then it was written and filmed. Each episode was created this way and the original writers had no idea how it would turn out. When there were ten epsiodes, with one wrapping things up, the feature film was created out of it. There are lots of super closeups of faces, in keeping with an Internet film, but overall the production is quite good. The musical score is probably from one of those libraries, but it fits the  film well.

A viral epidemic has eliminated 90% of the population of the world, and the survivors are struggling to keep on. Various drones which were originally meant to deliver the vaccinations for the deadly disease now wander aimlessly thu the sky, run by a special little power source which has replaced money as the currency, and are hunted.  (It is later revealed that the vaccinations were placebos since a group of bad guys had stolen the working vaccination.) Drone fans get together for drone races, so naturally there is one in the movie.

Kitch, a 16-year-old boy, stumbles on an unusual drone named DR1 which somehow gives him clues about his lost father, who was in charge of the mass vaccinations. It keeps following him. A young woman named Maya joins him and together they fight potential enemies, including a crime syndicate, on a journey to find Kitch’s father. DR1 helps them to find the answers they seek.

—John Sunier

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