Capsule reviews for Oct. 2

The Antenna

As dystopian thrillers go, this atmospheric Turkish entry features a fresh setting along with some familiar genre pitfalls. It’s set in the near future, when an authoritarian regime installs antennas in every residential building to peddle propaganda to an unsuspecting citizenry. Mehmet (Ihsan Onal) is a superintendent at an apartment complex whose residents are experiencing a creepy series of side effects when one such installation malfunctions. With obvious influential nods to Cronenberg, David Lynch and others, rookie director Orcun Behram crafts some haunting imagery. However, the visual flourishes can’t compensate for an unfocused, lumbering screenplay in which the logical gaps overwhelm the muddled sociopolitical subtext. (Not rated, 115 minutes).

A Call to Spy

The intriguing true-life subject matter that inspired this World War II drama deserves the spotlight, although this earnest retelling is too eager to tout its heroines rather than just telling their story. It tells a familiar story from a fresh perspective, intertwining the harrowing adventures of three female intelligence officers — Virginia (Sarah Megan Thomas), Vera (Stana Katic), and Noor (Radhika Apte) — assigned spy missions as part of the resistance effort in France, aiming to infiltrate and sabotage the Nazi regime. Strong performances from a diverse cast supplement the inherent rooting interest, yet the handsomely mounted film lacks narrative focus and tends to embellish the gritty details. (Rated PG-13, 123 minutes).

Death of Me

At least this muddled mess of jump scares and genre cliches contains some lovely tropical scenery. It follows a photographer (Liam Hemsworth) and his wife (Maggie Q) as they vacation on a secluded island off the coast of Thailand. But the getaway is plagued by sinister forces. A typhoon is approaching. He finds a video on his camera of a murder involving the couple. She experiences hallucinations after sipping a drink at a restaurant. A medallion around her neck seems to be cursed. None of it is truly frightening, however, mostly because the fragmented story can’t generate a meaningful emotional footprint or sustain any narrative momentum. (Rated R, 94 minutes).

The Projectionist

Combining a tribute to the theatrical moviegoing experience with a profile of an immigrant living the American dream, this documentary from director Abel Ferrara (Tommaso) is both relevant and heartfelt. The veteran filmmaker tells the quintessential New York story of Nicolas Nicolaou, who grew up as a movie buff in Cyprus, emigrated to the United States with his family, and worked his way through the exhibition business, from the projection room at adults-only venues to indie theater ownership. While the film itself is structurally unfocused and technically rough around the edges. Nicolaou’s gregarious passion for preserving cinemas despite severe economic obstacles provides a hopeful resonance. (Not rated, 81 minutes).

The Rising Hawk

You’ve seen many aspects of this Ukrainian battle epic handled better elsewhere, although like its characters, the film makes a valiant effort considering its limited resources. It takes place in the 13th century, when an invasion by Mongolian warriors forces a group of Carpathian villagers to defend their homeland. Abundant swordplay and inspirational speeches try to heighten the stakes between romantic interludes. Kudos to the multicultural collaboration, but the cheesy screenplay ditches any unique historical context in favor of recycling genre cliches. Despite some taut action sequences, it can’t sustain any meaningful tension. The ensemble cast includes Robert Patrick, Tommy Flanagan, and Alex MacNicoll. (Not rated, 125 minutes).

Save Yourselves

Despite a head-scratching letdown of an ending, this inventive, low-budget science-fiction oddity manages to sustain its goofy appeal most of the time. It follows Jack (John Reynolds) and Su (Sunita Mani), a Brooklyn couple trying to use a weekend getaway at a rural cabin to unplug and recharge their relationship. That goes out the window when they start experiencing paranoid hallucinations that suggest an alien invasion is underway. The thin premise doesn’t necessarily hold up under logical scrutiny, but the film’s satirical examination of millennial self-reliance — as evidenced by the characters’ lack of commons sense — is consistently amusing, bolstered by charming chemistry between Reynolds and Mani. (Rated R, 93 minutes).

Spontaneous

There’s an unintentional topicality to this mix of teen romantic comedy and gory thriller, which depicts suburban high school students quarantined in a medical bubble to avoid catching a mysterious affliction — one that causes their classmates to spontaneously combust — while doctors scramble to find a cure. Amid all this mayhem, outsiders Mara (Katherine Langford) and Dylan (Charlie Plummer) discover romance under most unusual circumstances. Langford and Plummer convey an endearing chemistry, and the uneven screenplay by rookie director Brian Duffield provides some scattered laughs. However, the film struggles when trying to soften its satirical edge and find a cathartic, profound explanation for its offbeat concept. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

12 Hour Shift

A one-joke premise without much of a payoff, this labored horror-comedy make might your next hospital stay even more nerve-wracking. Set in Arkansas in 1999, it chronicles an overnight double-shift for Mandy (Angela Bettis), a junkie nurse who pretends to care about her patients while helping her dim-witted cousin (Chloe Farnsworth) as the supplier to some black-market organ traffickers. But when a freshly harvested kidney turns up missing, Mandy must balance a desperate search with the real-life chaos on her floor. The screenplay by director Brea Grant maintains a playfully gory vibe, yet it’s impossible to sympathize with anyone in this collection of schemers and scoundrels. (Not rated, 88 minutes).

2067

“You might be humanity’s only chance.” That’s the daunting incentive presented to Ethan (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as he embarks on a perilous time-travel journey in this dystopian thriller that’s more convoluted than provocative. In the titular year, a calamity has killed all plants on Earth, forcing the dwindling human population to use artificial oxygen made by corporations to survive. Ethan’s mission involves finding a cure in the future, but instead he uncovers links to his past. Australian director Seth Larney’s background is in visual effects, and the film’s strength is the stylish rendering of its futuristic landscape. However, the script doesn’t generate the desired present-day emotional impact. (Not rated, 114 minutes).