It is never too early for a good mystery, that is as long as it’s a GOOD mystery.

When a travel show producer Alan Meursault (Tim Griffin) and his partner Ray Marsh (Michael Weaver) are on assignment in the Arctic Circle in Norway, they take a small cruise ship sailing along the Norwegian coast with twenty or so passengers. The group takes the time to speak with the locals which makes for a strong trip. 

Suddenly out of nowhere, everyone except for Alan, Ray, and their cameraman Sean Tibbets (Justin Huen) disappear from the boat without a trace. The trio then looks through an abandoned Russian town for answers but are quickly left with more questions, some of which will never be answered. 

The setup of “Arctic Void” is pretty mundane but pretty good as the film settles you into the story and what will be the conflict at hand. The film is well acted for an indie thriller and is incredibly well shot for its budget. The backdrop of Nordic tundra serves as one of the biggest pros working in the film’s favor.

Everything falls apart when the film leaves the boat and attempts to shed light into its mystery. “Arctic Void” absolutely fails to maintain a solid pace when the story is cut down to our three main characters. Instead of ramping up, the film comes to a halt as the storytelling is almost as boring as the revelations. The explanation on what has happened to our characters is downright nonsensical for a film in this tone. 

Those who want to commit to this film in hopes of solving the mystery are subject to a complete waste of time. “Arctic Void” doesn’t just end its movie on a cliffhanger but a complete non-ending. The runtime might be short but you’ll still feel the amount of time you wasted watching this when it is all said and done. 

There are so many pieces of this film that work on an aesthetic level but the film is failed by its storytelling which makes everything that comes after it pointless. 

 

1.5/5

 

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