Pendulum Trailer from Lauren Cooney on Vimeo.

Another Big Bang, maybe an implosion, what about a total apocalypse? There are numerous theories about how and when the world is going to end. We might never know how it’s going to happen as when it happens, our existence is over. However, the award-winning director Lauren Cooney (“Shut Eye”, “Fluid”) has her own theory about it or at least a fictional one. Her latest short film “Pendulum” predicts the end of the world but not as you know it and turns into a delightful, mysterious and enigmatic sci-fi movie.

Two friends, Cerys (Lauren Cooney) and Gwylim (Scott Michael Wagstaff), are living the life in London. Smoking and partying like every day is their last. Well, that last day might come sooner than they think. After watching a newsflash on television in which people in India are celebrating the end of the world (going out with a party might be the best way), they decide to join them. Travelling to and through India to seek spiritual salvation, they arrive at the sanctuary of the Derryk (Tom Sawyer). Having all the time in the world to rest, to become refreshed and to find the inner self, everything seems to go fine. Cerys and Gwylim are growing even closer until Gwylim discovers a dark secret…

That secret has nothing to do with how the world is going to end as it’s even more personal for Gwylim that he could ever expect. In a human story like this, the relationship between the actors and their characters should be one in which could we could recognize ourselves. That’s certainly something they got while making this film. Cooney isn’t only the director, writer, and producer but she also took on the role as one of the leading roles. Just as anything else she does for this film, she is wonderful as Cerys, the expressive, adventurous and passionate world traveller who naivety might become her doom. Wagstaff (“The Interview”, “Glass Moon”) his character couldn’t have been further from Cooney’s. His Gwylim is the more down-to-earth, caring and loving realist who reads people like no one else and Wagstaff portrays him on-screen in a captivating way. Yes, opposites attract each other, that’s for sure. The mysterious vibe of this film is partly brought to life by Tom Sawyer (“Once a Good Man”, “Deadly Threshold”) as Derryk, the dominant sanctuary leader whose intentions aren’t as pure as they seem.

Doesn’t matter how the world will end, it will probably be with a thundering noise. No wonder that the team behind “Pendulum” decided to use a loud, uptempo and powerful score. There’s not only room for fast-paced dance music but also the traditional Indian (instrumental music) keep you interested during the entire movie. Composer Marc Canham’s (“Close”, “Petroleum Spirit”) contribution to this film blends in beautifully and together with the light-dark cinematography from Ruben Woodin Dechamps (“Beyond Beauty”, “Jay”) it really lifts the movie to a higher level.

Just a few hours after the film was released four days ago on Dust, the first multi-platform on Youtube for sci-fi films you have to discover, the film reached over 20,000 views and since then that number has doubled. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should. “Pendulum” is a quite edgy, dark and fascinating and gives you an alluring inside in what might happen in the immensely distant future. Watch the film here.

Liselotte Vanophem, Film and Celebrity Reporter