The Void (2002)

Cast

Character	Actor
Dr. Thomas Abernathy	Malcolm McDowell
Prof. Steven Price	Adrian Paul
Prof. Eva Soderstrom	Amanda Tapping
Grace	Desiree Zurowski
Oscar	Andrew McIlroy
Christine Marshall	Kirsten Robek
Lt. Kolfax	Roger R. Cross
Dr. Jason Lazarus	Michael Rivkin
Dr. Soderstrom	French Tickner
Phil	Carlton Watson
Tech #1 Vera	Apollonia Vanova
Tech #2	Martin Budny
Tech #3	Ulla Fris
Larry	Frank Cipriano
Adam	Adam Murphy
New Tech #2	Liduina Vanderspek
New Tech #3	Trevor Roberts

Directed by Gilbert Shilton
Written by Geri Cudia Barger and Gilbert Shilton

Biography

From the Filadyne website in the film:

Dr. Thomas Abernathy, Ph.D. brings many years of experience to the team at Filadyne. His a wide range of experience includes time in institutes and facilities throughout the world, and he is an expert in alternative energy research. His research is well known for innovation and currently he is the acting head of Filadyne Research and Development division.

Classic Lines

"Go, go, go, go." - Dr. Thomas Abernathy

DVD Features

16 x 9 widescreen (1.78:1)
5.1 Dolby Digital
Trailers (The Void, State Property, The Risk)
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
English & Spanish Subtitles

Chapters

Self-Destruct
Knowledge is Power
Copying Files
Glazed
Nod Off
Classified
Well Kept Secret
Talking Through It
Urgent
Security Breach
Check Into It
Snowflake
Loyalties
Living in a Cage
Scuffle
Just Hurry Up
Get Our of Here
Busy & Naughty
Team Leader
Black Hole
Evacuate
Estimate
Not Screwed
End Credits

DVD Review

This is your basic el cheapo DVD except for the fact that it is widescreen and the picture quality is very good. The sound is average. I played it through a surround system and while it was adequate, it was nothing special. The only extra is a trailer for the movie, so there is no overwhelming need to buy own it unless you can get it cheap.

Sound 5
Picture 9
Extras 0
Overall 4

Pictures

VHS Front Cover - Russia
Mini Poster
Retail flyer for ordering the VHS/DVD

Notes

This was a made for TV movie by Lions Gate films. It did not air on TV and instead went straight to home video in February 2002 in Europe and Russia.
June 2002 was the release date for the US and Canada.
The box promotes Highlander's Adrian Paul + Stargate SG-1's Amanda Tapping
Filmed in British Columbia, Canada.
Songs - "Is Nothing Sacred?" by Mark Le Vang and "DG's Bach" by JS Bach.
Sci-Fi/Thriller, 93 Minutes, Closed Captioned, Not Rated - 14A Canada
Catalog #15873E, UPC 57373 15873
The official summary which is on the box is completely wrong. Quantex was changed to Filadyne, Kat Hicks was changed to Eva Soderstrom an she never worked at the company, Dr. Nixon was changed to Dr. Thomas Abernathy, the collider was not accidentally activated and she doesn't escape until the last minute.

Summary - Official

Quantex has developed a super collider, with the potential to solve the world's energy crisis. Kat Hicks is one of a dozen Quantex team members working under the direction of Dr. Nixon, the world's foremost particle acceleration expert. When the super collider is accidentally activated, it sets off a horrific chain reaction and creates an expanding black hole that threatens to devour the planet. Kat escapes amid the frenzy and has a mere 24 hours to stop The Void before it stops the earth.

My Summary

    There is a complex experiment called Archimedes about to take place in a large particle acceleration lab at Filadyne in Luxemborg. Large particles are collided together to create a super energy source to solve the world's energy crisis. Dr. Soderstrom is an old doctor in charge of the lab. He is adamant that the experiment should not take place because the chamber will be heated to levels that cannot be sustained. Dr. Abernathy is overseeing the project by monitor from another location. He is only seen on a large monitor at the front of the lab. He orders the experiment to take place and Soderstrom flips out because he is in charge. Abernathy tells him that is no longer the case and has the guards arrest him which they do. He orders the technicians to continue with the experiment which they gleefully do because they feel they are about to make history. The experiment goes off as planned much to everyone's joy. After a minute something goes horribly wrong and soon the instability takes over and the building starts to collapse. Abernathy orders the place shut down and that it can be reversed. Soderstrom yells at him that it is easy for him because he isn't there. One of the techs tries to escape and crashes into the door leaving hear bleeding from her head and nose. Soderstrom tries to initiate emergency procedures, but to no avail. The building is collapsing and all are killed.
    The story then picks up eight years later. Prof. Steven Price is teaching an engineering class at a college. He is a big, strong looking guy and you can tell the girls in the class are interested in him. Steven explains the importance between engineering and economics. He ends the class by telling them an essay t is due on Friday and he will grade it on the weekend and maybe even learn something himself. Prof. Eva Soderstrom shows up to talk to him and is giving him a hard time. He tells her they can discuss it at his place tonight.
    The next scene shows them having sex in his bed. Afterwards she sneaks off to access files on his computer. He works for a company called Filadyne on the side and she wants in. He catches her before she can get too far. We can tell she is using him to access his files, though he doesn't know it yet. She tells him she couldn't sleep and was just going online. He asks her if she can look go on the Filadyne site to help with a project she is working on. He doesn't have much access, but doesn't see the harm in it and lets her in with his password. She pulls out some zip discs and hacks to a higher level and downloads a bunch of files.
    The next day she is going over the files at her house and when she goes to feed her pet lizard Willard, we she photos of her and her father on her desk. He is the professor who died under Abernathy eight years ago. Her blind friend Christine shows up with donuts. Eva is upset with her for tempting her so hard with the donuts. Christine was in an accident recently and doesn't have to work anymore because of her compensation. She still wants to teach Biology, but can't get a job. Eva has learned what Filadyne is up to. She also reveals that her father was the one in charge of the experiment eight years ago. Chrstine realizes that the only way she could've gotten access was to have used Steven and she thought she was really crazy about him. She says she is, but doesn't think he'd understand. She started out using him for the Filadyne access, but would up falling in love with him unexpectedly. Chrstine says then she shouldn't be hiding from him. Eva doesn't know how she can come out and say Filadyne killed her father.
    The next day Steven goes to work at Filadyne and learns about the big experiment coming up. He meets with Dr. Abernathy and assures him everything is ready for next week. Abernathy says that will make the AEC happy.
    Eva stays up all night and finds out that Filadyne is going to recreate the experiment from eight years ago and it will fail. She decides to go see Steven in the middle of the night to explain what she told Grace. He can't except what she is saying. All he hears is that she started out their relationship by using him. He wants her to leave and the relationship is over.
    Eva found on the website a Dr. Jason Lazarus who is no longer working for Filadyne and decides he would be a good person to approach with her findings. She goes to his house, but he doesn't want to see her. She explains that her father told her what he was working on and that she knows what he was working on. He is planning on going away soon, but agrees to help her when she shows him what she has found. She has confess the only way she got the information was by hacking into the system. He left Filadyne because he didn't see eye to eye with Abernathy. Jason tells what he can, as much of it is classified. He calls up Abernathy and tells him he found the information and will show it to him with Eva in his office at 8AM the next morning.
    That night Christine goes to Eva's apartment to feed Willard and on the way out runs into Eva as she is coming in - scaring them both. Eva convinces her to stay so she can show her what she found out the night before and tried to show Steven. She explains the heat will create a micro black hole that if allowed to grow could explode or fall into the Earth and collapse it from the inside. No choice is preferable.
    Eva goes to Abernathy, but Lazarus never shows up. She waits until nine and then tries to get in and see Abernathy herself. His assistant says they had a meeting, but now it is too late and he is all booked up for the rest of the day. She starts to make a scene and Abernathy can hear it in his office over the monitors. When someone goes through the buzz-in door, she makes a break for it, but is taken to the ground by two security guards before she can get in. As this is going on Steven shows up for work and sees the guards on her. He can't believe it and convinces Phil and the other guard to let her go and he leads her away. He know realizes she is serious and agrees to meet her two hours later. When Abernathy and his henchman Oscar see this, they realize where their security leak has come from.
    Eva goes to Jason's house to find out why he never showed up for the meeting. She says he better have a good reason and he does. He was killed. His bags are still packed with his airline ticket where he left them. She freaks when she sees him hanging from the kitchen door and it alerts the thug who was upstairs. She goes to call the police and he grabs her. She hits him over the head with the phone and he has to chase her out the back door and down the street. Before he can catch her he is hit by a car and possibly killed.
    Oscar is in the lab with Abernathy and everything is ready to go. The doctor decides since they are ready and Eva is being a pain to push the experiment up to tomorrow instead of next week. Oscar wonders if that is wise because there might be a danger. Abernathy tells him he has been working on it for 22 years and that he has cancer and it is accelerating and he is dying. If he doesn't do it now, he'll never have another chance. Oscar seems convinced and doesn't question him further.
    Steven goes with Eva to Jason's house to meet with a police detective. There is no evidence of a struggle or murder. Jason's body is gone and the detective is not convinced there was a crime at all. The detective asks pressing questions about how Eva knew him and what she wanted with him leading her to think he is in on it.
    Steven takes her back home and she relaxes in the bathtub. She explains how she got into science after her father showed her a snowflake under the microscope. It has perfect six point symmetry and that no two flakes were ever the same. With all the snow in the world and no two flakes the same - it blew her mind. He gives her a drink and says she is lucky she was so close to her father. Then he starts to make out with her. They go back to the movie and have sex and are a couple again.
    The next morning she is making coffee and he tells her then Abernathy called him to his office the day before when she pulled her stunt. Abernathy told him about the hacking and that his girlfriend was making trouble. He wanted to find out if he was more loyal to the company or her. Oscar questions him as well and it upsets him. He says he is loyal to both. She then decides to explain everything to him. She thinks Abernathy is trying to create a black hole and has no idea what he is doing and it will destroy the earth.
    Meanwhile Christine is over at Eva's apartment feeding Willard again. She feels lonely and decides to take Willard and the cage back to her place because she feels they both live in cages. Before she can get out the door Oscar enters. When Steven and Eva return they find the apartment has been overturned and Christine has been killed. Oscar didn't find what he was looking for as the discs were hidden in the tray of Willard's cage. They didn't realize that Oscar was still there and jumps Steven. They struggle and with Eva's help they are able to escape. Oscar isn't knocked out and still has his gun though.
    They flee in his SUV and before they can get too far someone shoots at them breaking Eva's window. They get a hold of the same Lt./Detective from before. He tells them with no evidence of a crime and Filadyne not in his jurisdiction there is nothing he can do. He thinks the shooting could be gang related. Eva accuses him of being in Filadyne's pocket and they leave.
    Eva tells Steven they have to get into Filadyne that night since the experiment is set for tomorrow. He doesn't want to, but relents. He goes to work and has her hidden in the back. He is friends with the guard so he doesn't check the back of the car. They go into Steven's office and she uses his computer to try to mess up the files. Before she can get too far the system realizes there has been a security breach and they have to take off. The entire complex has camera so they are forced to use the air conditioning ducts to get around. Steven has claustrophobia and isn't happy about that.
    They go into the machine shop to get some tools and then go back in the duct. Security is not far behind. They know they are there, but they don't know they are in the ducts. The go over the lab and it looks like the experiment is ready to go even sooner than planned. All the techs are at their stations and Abernathy is there. She tells him they have to go to the main collider station to disrupt the files there. They find it, but the room has a camera sweep every 20 seconds. The drop to the ground is also twelve feet and he has to help her down. She gets to the supply locker which conveniently is unlocked and unsecure. She has to put her discs in and cut files then close the door, hide and start over when the camera comes back. After a few attempts she is finished and they backtrack their way to the machine shop. Larry the guard from the gate almost catches them as they go into the duct. Now they know how they are hiding.
    They come out and before they cane go through the halls the security enters. They hear Eva and go to get her giving Steven a chance to jump them from behind and knock them out. The only problem is that he broke his ankle in the scuffle. He tells her to leave without him and she does, but Oscar comes in and captures them.
    Oscar ties them to chairs and Abernathy comes in to talk to them. She challenges him, but he says no one ever succeeded without taking risks. He says is willing to proceed if it means her death. She wants him to recheck the data, but he isn't interested. They have to go as the AEC people are there. He says they can turn them over to the FBI after the experiment.
   Abernathy goes to the lab and explains how they can create a new form of energy to solves the world's problems. This gives Eva and Steven a chance to talk for the first time. Their relationship at the point was completely built on sex and tuna fish sandwiches. Now they get a chance to find out things each other like. Steven tells him the reason he didn't like going around in the ducts because he father used to get drunk, beat him and lock him in the closet. Eva is crying and tells him that she loves him. He admits feeling the same way.
    The experiment goes off just like it did in Luxemborg. Everything works perfect, then it fails completely. This time the black hole is created in the collider room. When two techs go in their to try to shut it don they are both sucked in. It begins to expand and Abernathy has Oscar bring Eva and Steven in. There isn't much Eva can do except to make sure they don't shut the power down. Steven can bridge the auxiliary generators to keep the power up so the black hole won't drop and has Oscar take him to the generator room in the wheelchair. Abernathy then evacuates all the techs
    When they get there the cabinet is locked and Oscar breaks in with a crowbar, but hits some wires, is electrocuted and thrown back. He is then sucked into the black hole in the floor there. He has to climb up and is able to finish the job, but falls and is knocked out. Abernathy tells Eva once Steven gets the power hooked up he is going to reduce the power a little by little and the black hole will fall into the earth 3000 feet and will explode. The ground will buffer the explosion. She tells him it could destroy the earth, but he is banking on the explosion. Abernathy tells her to get out of there, she has ten minutes to get away and she finally does. She calls for Steven on the radio, but he still knocked out. The place is starting to collapse all around them. Eventually Steven comes to and he directors her to him and she is able to get him out him out before the building explodes. After a couple of minutes Abernathy is pulled into the void.
    Later they are seen in a cemetery. Eva is visiting the grave of Christine and Steven goes over to comfort her. Then we hear over the radio that the government has launched an investigation, but that AEC has covered up the the whole accident. They claim it was a massive electrical fire. They also say two heroes saved many lives, but they can't be named because the whole thing has to be permanently sealed. Eva puts flowers on the grave and they leave.

My Review

    For a TV movie I guess this is pretty good. If it was a real big budget film it would be more disappointing. It does have some sexual scenes, plus a nude scene during one so it is safe to say it'll would've been a cable movie. The movie is listed as a Sci-Fi/Thriller - it is neither. The only thing that differentiates this from 100s of other films is the fact that the "enemy" is a Black Hole. I am sure it is a low budget film since it is direct-to-video, with that in mind they did a very good job overall. It does not look cheaply made and the effects are also well-done - not obvious crappy CGI effects. The box is also deceiving since it obviously shows New York City which is in no way the setting of the film. Original pictures showed the WTC falling into the hole which is shameful and it still appears on the disc itself.
    I am very in between on this film. It wasn't a great film and it wasn't a bad film. It is rather bland, but overall is worth watching because it doesn't suck. It just doesn't grab you like it could. I also strongly recommend not watching the trailer before the film because it gives away all the big scenes. This is typical among trailers which makes them pointless.
    Eva is actually the main character of the film bend on revenge or at least trying to ruin Abernathys' career. She does neither. Amanda does an adequate job, even if she looks bad with her manly haircut. I had never seen her before so I can't compare anything to her previous work.
    Adrian Paul I had seen as the highlander, so it is a bit silly to see him as this stuffed shirt scientist and teacher. Much like Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind - these big muscle bound guys are way out of their league as teachers. He plays more of a sidekick in this film and winds up getting hurt during their escape, so he really doesn't get much to do at all.
    Oscar plays a weird role. He is Abernathy's right hand man and assassin. Why would a scientist need that? At one point he seems like he understands the project is dangerous and wants it stopped, but then quickly changes and does everything he can to make sure it happens.
    The only other characters in multiple scenes are Christine and the police Lt./detective. Christine's character is completely unnecessary except to prove to Steven that Eva is right after she is killed. Why is she constantly coming over to feed the stupid lizard anyway? It wouldn't die and Eva doesn't seem to know she is doing that. I saw no reason why they needed to have a blind character at all as she couldn't possibly add anything to the story. The detective is weird because it seems he is in the pocket of Filadyne, but it is never proven either way.
    There are some goofy scenes like "we need to hide - lets go through the air ducts!" Of course the ducts are big enough for two people to practically stand side by side. Also they are spotless , easily accessible and have swinging doors. Right! Just once I'd like to see a speck of dirt in an air duct in a film. And what is the security guard from the gate doing in the building minutes later chasing them? Why is Oscar sucked right down into the hole, but Steven isn't pulled anywhere near it and Eva is able to go in and get him out? Lame.
    Malcolm has a rather strange role in this film. At first you are made to think he is the bad guy as usual. Only much later do we learn he really believes in what he is doing. He also feels he has done all the checks and it is safe. In the key scene he reveals he has cancer and is close to dying and this is his last shot at solving the world's energy problem which he has been working 22 years on. Since his character is a tragic figure he doesn't have any real classic lines except when he shoes Eva away at the end like a puppy dog. It is very funny. Also the fact he stays behind to correct his mistake shows he isn't a bad guy. While he does fine in the role it isn't how I like to see him. I would rather see him as the hero or a true villain. They try to send us on an emotional ride with his character, but it fails because we don't see enough of him. He is somewhat wasted in this role because he isn't given enough time to build the character. He practically shows no emotion. He gets excited for the project at a few points, but not overly so. He need to be able to have a truly passionate speech, instead of the the standards.
    In summary if you have 90 minutes to kill, this isn't a bad way to do it. If you have seen all of Malcolm's great films, then it is time to watch it. If you haven't, make sure you watch all of his classic films first (Mick Travis Trilogy, Gangster No. 1 Assassin of the Tsar, etc.) as it is time much better spent.

Rating 5/10

Taglines

Black holes can exist not only in the outer space...
It will swallow you hole!