Earth To Echo Review
This budget sci-fi kids adventure finds three best friends facing separation by property development. It seems their once joyful lives are about to be interrupted by the diggers, cranes and mixers than have come to create the new roadways that will divide their lives.
But around the same time the kids (who have been recording their campaign to try to stop the development online in video blogs) notice that there is some sort of electronic interference going on with their phones.
On their last day together they decide to locate the source of the electronic interference. So having snuck out one evening they hit the road on their bikes, armed with their recording equipment and set out on one last adventure. When they find an electronic, sentient alien entity they end up on a sort of treasure hunt from site to site to help their new found friend out – the adventure gets all the more exciting, emotional and dangerous (thanks to the government on their tail).
What helps set this adventure apart is the fact that it is largely filmed from the characters perspective. Thank god one of them is a bit of an online wiz when it comes to filming homemade videos and posting them online. So they are equipped with a variety of cameras (the hand held, the bike came, the spec-cam. All of which are used to convey the shooting style of the film. Made no mistake – this is NOT a found footage movie, but it is shot in a similar fashion.
This film seeks to do an old school story with modern techniques. But it also harks back to the 1980’s sci-fi kids adventures like Explorers, ET and even Mac and Me and has its heart in the right place. There is enough blend of invention, laughs and special effects to keep young audiences happy. This one is aimed at the kids, but shouldn’t offend any chaperoning adults
Steven Hurst