Down-on-his-luck sewage worker, Howard North, discovers he is a part of a secret sect of magical demon hunters called the Nekromancers. When Howard finds out about evil demon Finnegan's dark plans, he sets out to defeat her.
Nekrotronic is the latest film from Kiah Roache-Turner, the director of 2014's Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead, which makes this an Australian film. The first thing that I liked about the film, is that we actually got a kiwi actor in the film in the for of Auckland-based actor Epine Bob Savea. It's refreshing to have a team duo made up of an Australian and New Zealander; the inherent sibling-like rivalry and petty tomfoolery makes for great buddy-cop dynamics.
Wyrmwood proved popular as a mash-up of genre, combining the post-apocalyptic Mad Max style of world with a contagion zombie premise. Nekrotronic attempts to do the same but it bites off more than it can chew. The film could be generally described as 2016's Ghostbusters meets The Matrix, but it also borrows game mechanics from the Pokémon GO app, aesthetics from the Blade Runner franchise, and power dynamics and story elements from the Harry Potter franchise. Oh!, and our main protagonist "Howard" looks a bit like a certain metal man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, it's the crowded nature of Nekrotronic that holds it back from being as enjoyable as its predecessor.
The sheer magnitude in quantity of content in the story could easily flesh out to fill a trilogy of films, or even a full season of a television series. Instead it is crammed into this 99-minute film that, despite best intentions, ends up being forgettable. The amount of story forced into the script leaves neither room for plot points to be developed nor the time for the consequences of events to truly sink in. Nothing of significance is given the time to dwell, as our protagonists rush from once fast-paced action scene to the next exposition dump.
The action scenes themselves are rather boring. There is no real fight choreography, everything is the basest level of battle, with mostly point-and-shoot, and minimal hand-to-hand. It's clear that most of the budget went on special effects and CGI, because that aspect is brilliantly done for a low budget film. There is a nice Blade Runner meets 2016's Ghostbusters aesthetic, with ethereal blues and greens, mixed with neon pinks and purples creating a gritty, yet futuristic ensemble.
The cast are pretty good, all being considered. Ben O'Toole and Epine Bob Savea make a great clumsy fish-out-of-water duo, while Caroline Ford and Tess Haubrich put on a great performance as the "women-that-kick-ass-and-take-no-prisoners" type. The real surprise come in the bigger names involved, with David Wenham (from The Lord of the Rings and 300 franchises) playing an important part in the first act, and Monica Bellucci (who had a role in The Matrix sequels) having a rather significant role throughout the film.
The premise sounded so silly and the trailer looked so excessive that one would expect it to be either brilliant or horrendous, but it ended up being mediocre. With unimaginative action set pieces, and a bias towards exposition rather than emotional pacing, Nekrotronic ends up flying along at a pace that disengages the audience. Much like in Men In Black: International, more work went into the visuals than ensuring the plot had the strength to carry the film.
Here's hoping there is a lot of content on the cutting room floor that will emerge in an extended edition/director's cut.