Trigger Effect - R1 DVD Movie Review

Sometime, this year 2000, in Portugal, there was a problem at a single spot of the country's electricity network, but that was enough to bring the entire south half of the nation down to a pitch black night, for nearly 4 hours. During those 4 hours, hundreds of phone calls were made, to find out if the northern neighbors had also been affected, and / or to know what was causing such a massive and lengthy delay on the power-up.

4 hours without electricity is just too much for today's robots, ie people. If something as simple as an electrical problem happens, imaginations go wild and intolerance shows. The "modern civilized humans" are the most hysterical animals, going disoriented easier than any other species, when routine unexpectedly breaks.

That night, in Portugal - a very solid example of Democracy && tolerance - some black hours were enough for people to start nervously kidding about "a war", and other catastrophic theories. I think that shows many things: #1) how 100% dependent on electricity "modern civilization" is; #2) how robotic humans have become, and how easily they have bad reactions to (otherwise) easily tolerable events; and #3) the potential danger on such situations.

What would have happened if the blackout had endured for twice, or more, than it did? Mass hysteria? Probably.

"The Trigger Effect" (TTE) is a movie on the subject of a massive blackout, in the USA, affecting people for an "undetermined" time. Communications are down, too. So, humans are left to the most primitive forms of communication.

Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue and Dermot Mulhoney, are the big names in TTE. Kyle and Beth are a couple, with a young child; Dermot is a close friend, who shows too much intimacy with Shue.

The story really starts when Kyle has to buy some medicine to his daughter, but can't contact a Doctor to sign the prescription. Since he is being denied the sale, he decides to steal it. So he will. Later, he will buy a gun...

TTE has a short, but intense, script. Just because there is no electricity and no communications, people start imagining the most frightening scenarios, all having in common an unexisting "big brother": no Government, no TV, no trusty Police, no trusty friends, no nothing. Each one is for him / herself. It is back to the basics; it is a "you or them" thing; a matter of survival. Darwin's revenge?

So, the movie spends most of its time building this feeling of primitive chaos. It builds it effectively, thanks to great actings.

TTE is worth the buy, because of its difference - this is an unusual motion picture, not dependent on special effects and a bit like live acting performances. The DVD has the usual extra features: trailer, comments, and "biographies". Image and sound are without flaw (DTS and Dolby Digital supported).