Bulk
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Film Production Companies: Film 4 and Rook Films
Rating: 15+ / Run Time: 91 minutes
Language: English
Director: Ben Wheatley
Writer: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Alexandra Maria Lara, Sam Riley, Noah Taylor, Mark Monero and Bill Nighy

“Sometimes it takes a blunt tool to get things done.”

     What makes us do bad things? That’s the philosophical question pulsing at the heart of Wheatley’s newest experimental film, Bulk. It’s a question wrapped inside a string theory experiment gone wrong—so wrong, in fact, that the lead scientist’s “brane” explodes. (Yes, brane, not brain—no typo here.) The fallout? A device called The Brain Collider, a ripple across dimensional fields, and a ticking clock that sends a reluctant journalist through a looping, mind-bending maze to save himself—and possibly everyone else.

     Enter Corey Harlan (Riley), a journalist brought to a house by the mysterious agents Sessler (Taylor) and Aclima (Lara). Believing he’s been there before, Harlan panics—only to be quickly subdued by a drug injection from Aclima. She explains that the drugs in his system will have damaging effects unless he can track down Anton Chambers (Monero), the scientist behind the experiment. Anton not only has the power to cure Harlan but also to save everyone else. Told he has only 12 hours to find Anton, Harlan sets off. But each time he passes through a door in the house, he finds himself in the same setting—though each room brings a new challenge. More often than not, those challenges involve different variants of Sessler. Luckily, he won’t be entirely alone; his guide is another series of variants—this time in the form of Aclima. Together, they race against the clock to find Anton and fix everything.

     This film is tricky, and I watched it twice before sitting down to write this. At one point, a program within the story says of the project that it’s either “a work of genius or the worst idea anyone ever had.” The film walks that line right down the middle. Stylistically, it blends something akin to Wes Anderson’s practical, precision-driven aesthetic with the eerie simplicity of a classic Twilight Zone episode. Most of the effects are practical, with some green screen work, and even the deliberately simple weapon designs—almost laughable at first—end up adding to the film’s unique aesthetic. Visually, it’s a delight.

     The performances are equally engaging. Lara’s Aclima delivers her non-sequiturs and offbeat dialogue with a sincere deadpan that plays perfectly against Riley’s Everyman, spiraling from one extreme situation to the next. On the other side, Taylor gets the widest range, with his various Sessler incarnations giving him the freedom to experiment vocally and physically—each version distinct and fun. Monero, though not as present, makes his screen time count, exuding an energy not unlike Tony Todd in the Final Destination franchise.

     The script is a character in its own right. Developed collaboratively between Wheatley and his cast, it’s brimming with intriguing ideas, though some payoffs feel incomplete given the complexity of the concepts. In an era saturated with pocket dimensions, multiverses, and variant-driven stories, you might wonder if there’s room for another. What sets Bulk apart are its philosophical undercurrents—questions it doesn’t always answer, leaving some viewers feeling a touch shortchanged by the end.

     All in all, this movie, which premiered as part of Midnight Madness at EIFF, has all the ingredients you want in a midnight movie—laughs, sci-fi, romance, and absurdity. If that’s your cup of tea, Bulk is right in line for you.