Not So Much Fun With Dorothy

Not So Much Fun With Dorothy

Bruce Von Stiers

Artificial intelligence used to be just a vehicle for science fiction, both in print and on film. Not so much now. There are a lot things going on with AI now. Even Stephen Hawking made a statement about how AI could potentially perform more complex computations than the human brain.

Both before and after the computer, Hal, in 2001: A Space Odessey, there have been a lot of films involving AI. Now there is a new film that takes AI and makes a nasty little twist with it. That film is titled Project Dorothy.

Project Dorothy is from Liberty Atlantic Studios and Kinogo Pictures. It is being listed as a sci-fi horror thriller.

James and Blake are criminals. And not very good ones. After a botched robbery, the two of them are on the run. With sirens in the background, they try to seek refuge in what looks like an abandoned factory building. James has been wounded and needs some place to recuperate.

But as Blake and James are about to enter the building, a cop comes up. The cop is about to open the door that Blake has just jimmied. But then the cop is told by his dispatcher to leave, and this building is a restricted area.

So, right from the start, you know that something isn't right with this abandoned building. But as things progress in the film, we learn that something nefarious happened in the building. James uncovers a video that reveals that the building had been some kind of scientific facility. And that the project that the scientists there were involved with had somehow gone awry. Thiis the project Dororthy from the film's title.

While things are moving forward in the film there are some strange surveillances going on. We see messages appear on the screen and fast-moving video footage, as if someone is chasing something.

If things are already weird enough, there are scenes where a digital looking face is shown. It is at the back of a starship fighter hanger like room, with upside down horseshoe type of lighting in the room.

And things get even weirder when Dorothy starts to speak to James and Blake. She explains that's she's an artificial intelligence being who's been trapped in an antiquated computer system. Dorothy wants the item that the guys had stolen and talked about while in the building. And she will stop at nothing to get it.

So this film really is about man against machine. In this case, the man is a couple of petty criminals with a very special prize from their botched robbery. And the machine is a smooth talking, sometimes teasing and coy artificial intelligence being. That is, until she doesn't get what she wants. Oh yes, Dororthy was designed as a female artificial intelligence being.

Danielle Harris is Dorothy. She starred in two Halloween films and is considered a member of the “Scream Queens.” She also appears in a film I just reviewed, Roadkill.

Tim DeZarn is James. A veteran character actor, he has almost one hundred fifty screen credits. Adam Budron is Blake. He appeared in an episode of Special Ops: Lioness and films such as Cerdo and Night Night.

George Henry Horton plays the cop who is called away from the building. More on him in a minute. Emily Rafala is the police dispatcher who warns the cop to leave the area. She had a recurring role in Katy Keen and appeared in the film She Came From The Woods. And the doctor that Blake and James saw on the video is played by Olivia Scott. The films she's starred in include Deluded and Mixed Martial Hearts.

George Henry Horton wrote the screenplay, along with Ryan Scaringe. Horton also directed the film. And his previous credits include directing Dark Obsession and appearing in films like Useless Humans. Scaringe had worked on Useless Humans and a few other films.

The cinematography was done by Olesia Saveleva. She has been a gaffer, a grip and a second unit camera operator. And she has produced a few short films and was the cinematographer for several short and feature films.

The music was done by Matthew James. His previous credits include being the assistant to the composer for such shows as Stitchers, Black Lightning, and The Quad. He also composed music for the feature films Murmur and Arkansas.

The film has a theme song that plays at the beginning. The song is Here To Stay, which was written and performed by Knives At Sea.

Project Dorothy was a decent film. It pitted a couple of criminals against a much smarter, and horrific, artificial intelligence. But things don't exactly work out the way either side wanted.

The only thing about the film that I would have liked to have seen, was Danielle Harris herself. We hear her voice, but there is no physical manifestation of that voice.

Project Dororthy is out on cable and Digital VOD, including Vudu, Cox, Comcast and Prime Video.

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _