JP Nunez
New Life is a great example of why I love film festivals like Fantasia. When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was a bit outside my typical wheelhouse. It seemed like a pretty standard cat-and-mouse thriller, and while I can enjoy that genre, it’s not usually my first choice. But I decided to take a chance on New Life anyway. The way I see it, a big part of the film festival experience is stepping outside your comfort zone and expanding your horizons, so I figured I’d give this movie a shot. I requested a screener pretty quickly, and now that I’ve watched it, I’m happy to report that it’s the most pleasant surprise of the festival for me.
New Life was written and directed by John Rosman, and it stars Tony Amendola, Hayley Erin, and Sonya Walger. It’s about a woman named Jessica Murdock who’s on the run, and she’s trying to get to Canada. We don’t know what she did or why she’s being chased, but we do know that her tracker is an older woman named Elsa Gray. Elsa works for a mysterious organization that apparently does this kind of stuff, and it’s her job to find Jessica and bring her back into custody.
If that plot synopsis sounds a bit vague and undercooked, let me assure you, there’s a reason for that. New Life skips the buildup and just drops us right into the middle of Jessica’s story, so for the entire first half of its runtime, it’s essentially a mystery thriller. Like I said, we have no idea why this woman is on the run, so for all we know, she could be anything from a Jason Bourne-esque super-assassin to an alien from another planet. All options are on the table, and the only thing we know for sure is that she doesn’t want to be caught.
In fact, aside from that central mystery, there’s not much to the story in this first half of New Life. It’s really more about the characters than anything else, and thankfully, they knock it out of the park. The performances in this film are all excellent, and as you can probably guess, the highlights here are Hayley Erin and Sonya Walger, the actresses who play Jessica and Elsa. They make their characters totally believable, so I bought into them immediately. I was completely invested in their cat-and-mouse game right from the start, and I couldn’t look away from my TV screen as I anxiously waited to find out what was going to happen next.
On top of that, I also have to give special mention to something Sonya Wagner does particularly well. Her character, Elsa, was recently diagnosed with ALS, and the disease is starting to take its toll on her. Her hands sometimes shake, and she has a bit of trouble walking, and Wagner plays the role just about flawlessly. Not only does she perfectly mimic those ALS symptoms, but she also does a great job of conveying just how frustrating her character’s condition is. She makes Elsa much more sympathetic than your typical cat-and-mouse antagonist, and that in turn imbues the story with an emotional complexity you don’t normally get in these movies.
Then, at about the midway point, New Life finally pulls back the curtain and lets us know why Jessica is on the run, and it’s awesome. I’m obviously not going to spoil the surprise for you, but suffice it to say, it’s not at all what I was expecting. Granted, it’s not quite mind-blowing the way, say, the reveal in Devils is, but it still caught me completely off guard.
It turns New Life into a legit horror film, complete with gore, awesome makeup effects, and even a few scares. In fact, looking back on this twist, it’s actually a bit ironic that I initially thought this movie would be outside my wheelhouse. Sure, the first half might be, but the rest of it is exactly my kind of film, so it’s pretty much the best of both worlds.
All that being said, I have to acknowledge that the second half of this movie is far from perfect. The premise is great, but the film doesn’t really do much with it. It ends up being a fairly standard example of a particular horror subgenre, so even though I had a good time with it, it just feels a bit hollow.
To be fair, this part of New Life isn’t all style over substance. It uses its horror as a metaphor for Elsa’s ALS, and in doing so, it makes a point about the value of living heroically in the face of such a grim prognosis. It’s a great message, but unfortunately, it feels a bit undercooked. The story doesn’t embody that message as fully as it should, so even though I understood what writer/director John Rosman was going for, it just didn’t hit nearly as hard as it otherwise would’ve.
That shallowness keeps New Life from reaching its full potential, but in the grand scheme of things, the good in this film ultimately outweighs the bad. It has great lead characters fueled by great performances, an excellent mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and an awesome horror twist that you will not see coming, so if you get a chance to watch this movie, I highly recommend that you do.
New Life had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on August 8, and it’ll be screened again on August 9.
