ANOMALY | Omeleto Sci-Fi

A team of elite soldiers encounter an unexpected enemy in a remote jungle.


ANOMALY is used with permission from Brian L. Tan. Learn more at https://brianltan.com.


An armed military team, led by a tough elite solder, is closing on a group of "anomalies," closing in on them through an abandoned wasted landscape. The anomalies are evidence of some strange paranormal activity and it's a perilous situation, and some of the commander's team want to be cautious. But the commander -- whose last mission failed -- is ruthlessly determined to prove herself by succeeding in hunting down the anomalies.

After a fraught approach, they get closer until they finally capture one in a hideout, gunning them down. But when they're gas-bombed, the team finds themselves trapped in more ways than one.

Directed by Brian L. Tan and written by Zaike Laporte Airey, this high-octane, visually accomplished sci-fi action thriller begins with its pulse already racing, dropping viewers right in the middle of the action, as a team of operatives arrives at the tropical jungle. There's little set-up or background, though the well-calibrated writing drops just enough information to give a sense that the targets of this team's mission are not quite ordinary.

The commander and her team are on an urgent mission, and that sense of urgency never slackens as they zero in on their targets, an approach captured in dynamic, muscular camerawork and direction that ratchets up an immersive tension. With such propulsive pacing, we often don't slow down to get to know the characters very well, but in the few slower moments of the storytelling, we understand the commander has a chip on her shoulder from a previous mission and is determined to hunt down these anomalies, disregarding the advice and instincts of others on her team.

Actor Salvita Decorte plays the commander as a tough, relentless adversary, sure in her direction on the surface but fearful of failing underneath it all. As she commands her team to charge ahead, despite the growing doubt and disquiet in her ranks, we begin to wonder if her determination to execute orders and complete the mission, at the expense of nuance or critical thought, will lead them into a trap.

Impressively crafted with polished production values and exciting storytelling, ANOMALY is about a woman hunting down an enemy, but whose own worst enemy turns out to be herself. Though the filmmaking is on the level of a Hollywood blockbuster and the look and feel are futuristic, it is still grounded in relatable human dilemmas, traits and foibles. But when those faults are backed up by military might, unquestioned authority and the ability to take life, they have even more catastrophic consequences -- especially for those who never learn from their mistakes, no matter how many times they make them.