The tricks director Josh Trank uses in his low-budget debut feature might not be entirely original. But combined with a character-driven script and some great acting, he successfully strips the superhero genre back to basics and delivers a gritty, compelling little gem.
A mash-up of science fiction, teen flick, superhero action and drama, Chronicle gives things a twist by using "'found footage". As seen in The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and Paranormal Activity, a found-footage movie asks audience to believe the movie has been assembled from what its participants shot on cameras and phones.
This story is told through the eyes - and viewfinder - of high school student Andrew Detmer (DeHaan), a shy and bullied loner with an abusive father and a sick mother. One day Andrew decides to video his life, which is, as it turns out, a very timely decision. In the woods a few nights later, he and his cousin Matt (Russell) and fellow student Steve (Jordan) stumble across an otherworldly object that grants them telekinetic powers.
Discovering you can move things - including yourself - with your mind, opens up a world of possibilities.
Initially, they do dumb stuff - chips into mouths, making girls' skirts fly up, moving cars around car parks. But the pranks give way to flying at a speed that would put Superman to shame and playing football in the clouds. And yes, they are able to maintain the DIY filming because as Andrew gets telekinetically stronger he controls his camera remotely, which means the camera hovers over the action rather than being jittery and handheld.
