SPECTRAL (2016)

Summary:

A brilliant DARPA engineer, Dr. Mark Clyne, is dispatched to a war-torn Moldova after a U.S. Special Operations Forces unit is mysteriously wiped out by what appear to be translucent, spectral entities. These apparitions are impervious to conventional weaponry and kill instantly on contact, baffling military commanders and plunging the highly trained soldiers into a terrifying battle against an unknown, seemingly supernatural enemy.

As the military faces an unprecedented threat, Clyne must use his scientific expertise and unconventional thinking to understand the nature of these apparitions and find a way to combat them. Leading a desperate mission alongside a seasoned special forces unit and a CIA officer, he races against time to uncover the truth behind the "ghosts" before the entire region is overrun, leading to a shocking discovery about their origin.

Keywords: Spectral, 2016, James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Max Martini, Sci-Fi, Action, Horror, Military, Supernatural.

Plot:

Dr. Mark Clyne, a DARPA scientist specializing in optical technologies, is summoned to a US military base in Moldova after an elite Delta Force team is annihilated by unseen entities. Using his advanced hyper-spectral imaging goggles, Clyne confirms the presence of these translucent, humanoid apparitions that appear to be made of condensed air and instantly kill anyone they touch. Major Sessions, the unit's hardened commander, initially dismisses Clyne's scientific approach, but the escalating casualties and the entities' invulnerability force him to cooperate with Clyne and CIA officer Fran Madison.

During a mission to retrieve survivors and understand the threat, the team suffers heavy losses, and Clyne begins to theorize that the "ghosts" are not supernatural but rather man-made. He deduces they are a form of Bose-Einstein condensate, a supercooled matter that can pass through most solid objects, and are likely using the surrounding infrastructure to generate their bodies. Their investigation leads them to a derelict Soviet-era power plant on the outskirts of the capital, believed to be the origin point and central hub for the entities' creation.

At the power plant, Clyne and the remaining soldiers discover a massive generator creating the entities, which are revealed to be the "souls" of deceased Moldovan civilians, inadvertently weaponized by a defunct Soviet-era project. Clyne devises a plan to overload the generator using a specialized EMP device, which he rapidly constructs from salvaged equipment. In a desperate final stand, the team fights through hordes of the spectral beings, successfully activating the EMP. The entities are dissipated, and the threat is neutralized, allowing the surviving soldiers and Clyne to be extracted, having faced and overcome a terrifying, technologically-driven horror.

Cast (Lead Roles):

• James Badge Dale as Clyne
• Emily Mortimer as Fran Madison
• Max Martini as Major Sessions
• Cory Hardrict as Sergeant Alessio
• Clayne Crawford as Sergeant Toll

Crew:

• Director: Nic Mathieu
• Screenplay: Ian Fried, John Gatins, George Nolfi
• Story: Ian Fried
• Producers: Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni
• Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli
• Music: Junkie XL (Tom Holkenborg)

Release Info:

• Original Release Date: December 9, 2016 (Netflix)
• Language: English
• Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller, Horror
• Running Time: 107 minutes
• Accolades: N/A