Movie fans are always seeking it out - the new dizzying cinematic high. Even better if we can get it before everything else. This desire to be the first to experience movie magic is at the heart of Clark Baker’s enjoyable sci-fi debut, Test Screening, an 80s-set nostalgia fest that manages to not overstay its welcome.
Baker’s film takes us to a small-town in Oregon of the summer of 1982, where a Hollywood studio is hosting a mysterious preview screening. And yet this film-within-a-film unleashes something terrible that will tear four friends and the community they’re part of apart.
Baker and Stephen Susco’s script gives time early on to explore their setting, adding depth and nuance to a roster of characters that we expect bad things to happen to. As the audience’s conduit, Drew Schied’s Reels acts as an endearing screen presence, a nerd with a heart of gold. But the centre of the film is Chloë Kerwin’s Penny, and their touchingly heartfelt turn elevates the film. As Penny emerges as Test Screening’s sort-of final girl, Kerwin carries proceedings well.
Where Test Screening falls down is in how far it is willing to go. Some of the more horrifying moments tend to take place off screen, and this is a work that really feels like it could have benefited for a gloopier, more gonzo finale. Two of the films key touch points are the 80s version of The Blob (1988) and Society (1989). But both earlier films achieved their status in horror circles with third acts that go big. Test Screening could have matched these two classics if only it had gone further.
But that’s not to deny the strengths of Baker’s film, with endearing characters, a softer touch on nostalgia and a more downbeat tone than one might expect. Even as a film that name-checks the likes of Star Wars and The Thing (1982), Test Screening just about manages to find its own place, thanks to the creatives’ work before proceedings take a turn for the worst. It may not match what has come before but that isn’t to deny the prowess Baker and his team have in creating this accomplished cinematic debut.
3.5 Screams out of 5
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