BEYOND THE TREK (TELEIOS) (2017)

Studio:       Screen Media
Director:    Ian Truitner
Writer:       Ian Truitner
Producer:  Hayley Helmreich, Matthew S. Gore
Stars:     Sunny Mabrey, Lance Broadway, T.J. Hoban, Christian Pitre, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Ursula Mills, Weetus Cren, Michael Nouri

Review Score:

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Summary:

Genetically modified humans on a deep space retrieval mission uncover a conspiracy regarding the dead crew of a derelict ship.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

A transmission from Nordham on Earth greets the five-person crew of the spaceship Teleios as they wake from cryosleep in deep space. The crew, who are known as ‘GC humans’ because they were genetically modified as embryos by Glen Crest Labs to be ‘perfect,’ consists of Commander Reginald Linden, First Officer Iris Duncan, Doctor Orson, Chris Zimmer, and Emma Anderson.

Nordham reiterates that their mission is to retrieve the cargo aboard derelict ship Atromitos, which is caught in orbit around the planet Titan. Nordham explains that Atromitos is carrying a carbon-fixing catalyst capable of repairing Earth’s decaying climate, but everyone aboard the ship died before completing its retrieval assignment.

The Teleios crew boards the Atromitos. After combating a pair of mobile defense turrets, the crew retrieves the ship’s artificial human, Lulu AH-320, and its lone human survivor, junior engineer Travis O’Neill.

Iris begins interviewing Travis, but he refuses to speak. However, Iris notices that Travis reacts when she mentions Lulu. Doctor Orson discovers that Lulu was physically altered, presumably to be Travis’ romantic companion.

As time goes on with Iris trying to break through to Travis and the others attempting to recover the cargo, the five GC humans notice their personal behaviors changing. Linden becomes more temperamental. Iris’ hands start shaking. Orson becomes forgetful. Emma becomes more emotional. Chris becomes continually distracted by his romantic relationship with Emma. Everyone’s conditions gradually worsen.

The carbon compound is jettisoned into space during a cargo bay door failure. Linden blames Emma for the breach. Chris is briefly hospitalized after risking his life to close the door.

Iris eventually discovers that the Atromitos was never in danger, but was deliberately put in Titan’s orbit before Teleios arrived. The crew also did not randomly go insane. Rather, there was some sort of dispute over the cargo. Iris concludes that the cargo is not what they had been told. Putting together clues from Travis’ actions, paintings, and cryptic references to foreign-language literature, Iris uncovers that whatever the compound actually is, it reacts badly with water.

To get Travis to talk, Orson forcibly dismantles Lulu in front of him. Travis finally gives up the tracking codes for the cargo. Linden and Chris go into space and recover the compound.

Travis agrees to explain everything to Iris if she allows him to repair Lulu. Iris brings tools to Travis.

Travis tells Iris that the Atromitos crew discovered that when the compound contaminated a water supply, it was capable of killing humans on a mass scale. When they reported their concern to Earth, Glen Crest explained that there was a water filtration system aboard the ship that would protect them. Everyone realized that Glen Crest already had a cure, but wanted to retrieve the disease. The crew split into two warring factions, with one side loyal to the corporation while the other refused to bring the compound back to Earth. Travis claims to have killed everyone who survived the ship’s civil war in order to save himself.

Nordham sends a final transmission revealing that a proprietary tracking code was implanted inside every GC human. However, that implant mutated, and now causes neurological problems for GC humans. With Earth currently burning, Nordham adds that regular human blood can keeps GCs stable, but before long they will all lose their minds.

Orson proposes harvesting Travis’ blood to save the Teleios crew. Iris initially refuses, but ultimately changes her mind.

While Orson goes to collect Travis’ blood, Emma tells the others that she thinks Orson is going to kill them based on a quote she found. Iris realizes the quote actually came from Lulu. She immediately concludes that Travis lied and Lulu actually killed everyone aboard the Atromitos.

Lulu strangles Orson to death before kidnapping Travis. The ship goes into red alert as Linden, Iris, Chris, and Emma hunt for Lulu and Travis.

Emma is killed from behind. Chris dies following a fight with Lulu. Travis stuns Iris with his pulse rifle, but Linden stuns Travis and takes him hostage. Iris recovers in time to destroy Lulu before Lulu can attack Linden.

With Linden holding him captive, Travis insists that he never altered Lulu. Iris makes a move toward Travis, but instead kills Linden with an injection to his neck. When Travis asks why she didn’t kill him, Iris explains that it was his admission that he wasn’t the one who changed Lulu or taught her to lie.

Iris goes on to say that she was in the 3% failure rate for GC humans. She was able to partly control her mutation, which is why she wasn’t as emotionally affected as the others. She asks why Lulu altered herself, but Travis tells her he doesn’t know.

Iris instructs Travis to return to Earth, even though it is dying, and tell everyone what happened. Once Travis escapes, Iris sets course for Titan at maximum speed to kill herself and destroy the cargo.

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Review:

NOTE: “Beyond the Trek” was previously titled “Teleios” and goes by “Deep Space” in the UK.

Low-budget movies fighting for attention in the crowded DTV world often massage their artwork or their titles to echo a more popular property.  Sometimes they outright ape the original in a shameless attempt to mislead consumers.  Mockbusters from The Asylum are a repeat offender.  You also get piggybackers who will time the release of something called “Paranormal Mummy” (not an actual movie that I know of… yet) with Universal’s Tom Cruise vehicle or some similar cash grab situation.

So I can’t feign naivety as to why “Teleios” was renamed “Beyond the Trek” for its home video release in the United States.  Of course the Powers That Be want the seed planted, no matter how slim it may be, that the film bears some direct or indirect relation/resemblance to Gene Roddenberry’s juggernaut.  But it is such a shortsightedly desperate strategy for instant recognition, speculation suggests it may do more to alienate audiences than attract them.  Fonts don’t fool true trekkers or trekkies.  Filmgoers with no interest in exploring the Final Frontier have even less reason to care.

“Teleios” would have been best left to survive on its own merits.  Releasing it as “Beyond the Trek” puts a bad taste in a potential viewer’s mouth by being insultingly obvious about what it hopes to rip off.  And this film deserves better than to be dismissed for misapplied marketing tactics.  (Insert standard disclaimer that filmmakers rarely have anything to do with such decisions.  This generally comes from the distribution end.)

Anyway, “Teleios,” I mean “Beyond the Trek” (ugh), concerns the crew of the formerly titular starship.  Five humans genetically modified before birth to be ‘perfect’ people have been assigned to retrieve the cargo of a derelict spacecraft.  They’ve been told that the ship is carrying a carbon compound capable of repairing Earth’s decaying atmosphere.  What they find instead are a reprogrammed robot and one single human, the sole survivors of a vicious mutiny that killed everyone aboard.

Unfortunately for the quintet crew of Teleios, the man they just rescued isn’t talking.  Even more unfortunately, something strange is happening where each of these supposedly perfect humans is suddenly experiencing increased emotional instability, forgetfulness, or inexplicable physical shakes.  Whatever is really going on, everyone is now Geordi La Forge visor-deep (sorry) in a mystery where their very survival is at stake.

For good or for bad, “Beyond the Trek” is reminiscent of the syndicated sci-fi TV boom in the 1990s.  That’s bad if you expect theatrical film scope full of action and spectacle.  That’s good if you still have nostalgia for the smaller scale style of shows such as “Andromeda” or “Earth: Final Conflict.”

Forget about what it looks like now.  I watched “Babylon 5” when it originally aired and back then it was just as jarring to see a tiny Sun Valley soundstage standing in for a five mile-long space station.  Ignore aesthetics however, just as one has to do with the original “Star Trek” nowadays, and audiences will still discover some truly great science-fiction.

Other than the “truly great” part, “Beyond the Trek” is in a similar circumstance.  Granted, more than 20 years has passed since the heyday of syndicated sci-fi, so it’s harder to argue overlooking lower production values based on an outdated scale.  But “Beyond the Trek” is no worse, and in many cases better, than the aforementioned programs in terms of its costumes, sets, CGI, and overall look.  Slip it into the schedule between “Time Trax” and “Sliders,” you might consider it the superior show.

That said, “Beyond the Trek” isn’t a 1997 TV series.  It’s a 2017 feature film.  As buttoned-up as the effort is for small budget sci-fi, its story isn’t particularly exciting.

“Beyond the Trek” focuses on an intimate mystery that is explored primarily through conversations taking place entirely inside the ship.  In that respect, the movie really is like a lesser, more talkative episode of “Battlestar Galactica” or “The Next Generation” without any space battles and only limited corridor conflicts involving phaser fire.

Also in keeping with syndicated sci-fi standards, the cast is more photogenic than they are exceptional performers.  Sunny Mabrey holds her own well enough as Teleios’ first officer, who is essentially the main character.  Though Lance Broadway is out of place as her unconvincing commander with little to show for his authority aside from handsome headshot hair.  Ursula Mills plays an android in the most clichéd manner possible: staring blankly, moving rigidly, and speaking robotically.  A little more creativity here would go a long way.

That sentiment holds true for the movie as a whole.  Writer/director Ian Truitner wrings a lot of outer space atmosphere from a really restricted production.  What Truitner could have used is another action setpiece or two to elevate everything to a level that isn’t simply cerebral.  Tricks like alternating axis tilts on each shot to simulate gravity fluctuations, while probably nauseating for some, are inventive on the technical side of things.  With its focus on interpersonal interactions, the script doesn’t always mirror the same cinematic energy.

Should you not care about details like Nerf guns painted to look like futuristic pulse rifles, “Beyond the Trek” has contemplative appeal as a reflective exploration of humanity as a theme.  That might understandably be too tame of an enticement to give the film a try.  In which case, you’d be better off going straight beyond this trek to the real thing.

Review Score:  55

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