KSL Movie Show review: ‘Brick,’ a sci-fi mystery that won’t leave you hanging

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

As is quite common, when a big budget, blockbuster hits theaters, the other biggies usually shy away and wait for another day. Such is the case this weekend as “Superman” is dominating a fair amount of screens, while a handful of gutsy, alternate titles will poke their heads out of the sand and say, “Hey, what about us?”

Unfortunately, those back-up plan movies are “Bank,” a subtle title for a not-so-thrilling hitman movie and “Abraham’s Boys,” about the Dracula-chasing Van Helsing family trying to hide in the Central Valley of California in the early 1900s. Huh?

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So, we, as in I, have decided to go with plan C, a sleepy, little sci-fi Netflix mystery set in Eastern Europe that feels a bit like “10 Cloverfield Lane,” where a group of people are stuck in an underground bunker, believing that the Earth above has become uninhabitable. Or has it?

In this case, a young married couple, Tim and Liv, are struggling after the loss of a child. Liv (Ruby O. Fee) wants to start fresh in Paris, while Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) buries himself in his high-stressed computer game company. As it is, they’re headed toward a separation.

Just as Liv says “that’s it,” and attempts to storm out the door, they are confronted with black ceramic brick wall that seems to have popped up overnight enveloping the entire apartment building. How did it get there? And more importantly, who put it there and why?

Their connection to the outside world is completely cut off, no cell reception, no wi-fi, just lights and power. This is when they realize that they can hear the neighbors arguing next door, so they cut a big hole in the wall to see if Ana and Marvin know what’s happening. The answer? They also have no idea.

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So the four start tunneling downward, finding more people, but also knowing that there’s an old subway tunnel from World War II in the basement that might provide a means of escape. However, not everyone is convinced that they should try to leave and that’s where the drama comes crashing in.

Besides, no one has come close to figuring out if leaving is even possible.

You will also notice pretty quickly that German is being spoken, but with some mostly decent dubbing, it’s not a huge distraction (until I just brought it up).

Liv and Tim are the only actors you’ll recognize. Matthias has been the young German go-to guy in recent films including “Oppenheimer,” “Heart of Stone,” “Army of Thieves” and “Resistance.” Ruby O. Fee was also in “Army of Thieves,” “The Invisibles” and “Polar.”

Finally, is it weird that after all the wall bashing and floor caving, that I thought ‘gosh! is the superintendent going to be ticked if and when he sees all the damage they’ve caused?’ And then when they do run into the superintendent, he seems rather ambivalent about it, so no harm no foul.

Also “Brick” doesn’t leave you hanging like so many other movies of this ilk. You’ll know what happened by the end, you just may not like what the filmmakers came up with, but that’s the risk you take – and honestly it might be worth it.

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“Brick” (B-) Rated TV-MA for violence and language. Starring Matthias Schweighöfer, Ruby O. Fee, Frederick Lau, Sira-Anna Faal and Murathan Muslu. Written and directed by Philip Koch (“Outside the Box” “Tribes of Europa” TV Series) – filmed at Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic. Running time: 101 minutes. A NETFLIX exclusive.

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.