For a bit of sci-fi flare, the Overlook Film Festival showcased Things Will Be Different. The feature-film debut of writer and director Michael Felker, Things Will Be Different tells the story of adult siblings Joseph and Sidney. After an estrangement, the two come back together when Joseph approaches his sister with what seems to be the perfect robbery. When things go awry, Joseph and Sidney will have to grapple with time, each other, and an unseen force.

This film is an emotional character study wrapped inside a sci-fi mystery. When we first meet the siblings, the theft has already happened. They come together and flee to a remote farmhouse, but this farmhouse is special. When properly activated, it allows the siblings to travel to a place that seems to exist outside of the normal laws of time. It seems like the perfect place to hide and wait for the manhunt to die down, until they realize someone – or something – is keeping them from leaving. When it comes to the time travel elements of Things Will Be Different, some audiences might leave the film feeling confused. There are a lot of different theories and strange elements presented throughout the film, clearly meant to leave a lot of these sci-fi elements shrouded in mystery. That being said, it makes some of the rules and twists throughout the film unclear, so the pieces of the puzzle never fully come together.

The heart of Things Will Be Different is the dynamic between Joseph and Sidney. They had a falling out in the past, and this crime was meant to be a way for Joseph to make amends with his sister, who needs the money to care for her young daughter. At first, they reminisce and bond after so many years apart. However, when their situation turns dire, the dynamic shifts. Between the two are feelings of anger, guilt, suspicion, depression, and everything in-between. Yet even when their relationship is at its worst, it’s still apparent Joseph and Sidney love each other. It’s this authentic sibling connection that is the heart and soul of the film.

With the exception of a few minor roles, Things Will Be Different‘s cast focuses entirely on Sidney and Joseph. Riley Dandy (Christmas Bloody Christmas, Interceptor) plays Sidney. There is a fierceness to Sidney that Dandy brilliantly brings to life. That fierceness makes her seem tough and resilient on the outside, sometimes leaning into coldness, but it comes from a place of motherly love. Adam David Thompson (Glass, A Walk Among the Tombstones) plays Joseph. Thompson makes it very clear that Joseph is trying to make it up with Sidney for whatever happened in their past. Yet when things go wrong, his guilt compounds and consumes him. Both Dandy and Thompson are great on screen together, conveying a sibling relationship complete with all the animosity, love, rivalry, and caring one would expect to see between two real-life siblings.

There is a bleakness to Things Will Be Different that shows in the visual elements and beyond. A majority of the film takes place at the farmhouse. When the siblings first enter the house, it’s dilapidated, abandoned, and devoid of most furniture and decoration. Once the siblings travel to the farmhouse that exists outside of time, it appears in good shape with decorations reminiscent of the 1950’s. It’s a great way to make it clear right away that time travel has happened. It also makes for a very haunting, isolated setting as the farmhouse is surrounded as far as the eye can see with fields and woods, completely devoid of any sign of other people. This starkness extends to the coloring of the film as well, generally having a muted color palette so the only vibrant color comes from blood. Tying it all together is a beautiful, atmospheric score by Jimmy LaValle (Spring, The Endless) and Michael A. Muller (Less Than).

Things Will Be Different has a somewhat confusing premise, but it’s tied together with a captivating and complicated relationship between two siblings. Despite those missing puzzle pieces, Felker truly swung for the fences with his feature-film debut, giving audiences an engrossing character study wrapped in a time-travel, sci-fi package. Thompson and Dandy are electric together as brother and sister, bringing dynamic, earnest characters to life. It’s clear Felker has a unique, creative voice that genre film fans will want to see more of in the future.

OVERALL RATING: 6/10