Three days before a climate catastrophe which experts report will destroy humanity, aspiring photographer and prescription drug dealer Cam (Charles Ouda) goes about his life. He meets with clients, snaps photos, and remembers his past. We are given dreamlike glimpses into Cam’s mind as various events remind him of something or graze old wounds. He thinks often of his girlfriend who died two years before of a drug overdose and of his mother and sisters who raised him. This introspective, almost meditative pacing dissolves as it becomes clear his friend and occasional client Nick (Nick Smithson) is in life-threatening danger.
Nick’s kid sister Katie (Jennifer Leigh Whitehead) confirms this when she shows up at Cam’s apartment covered in blood and bruises. The young man initially acts on his pessimistic impulse and knowledge that the world is ending and pleads with Katie to take a wad of cash and use it to leave the city. She refuses and Cam washes his hands of the ordeal. The further appearance of the ghosts of his friends and loved ones drives Cam to help the girl find Nick, sending him into a bizarre corner of a dying city’s underworld.
This film exceeds expectations. I wasn’t expecting such strong worldbuilding and character development from the get-go, but Exposure 36 delivers in massive quantities. What little exposition we are given is stylistically similar to other great apocalypse films such as 12 Monkeys and Mad Max: A simple title card proclaims man’s doom and a general reason why. The cinematography on display in Exposure 36 will fail to disappoint and shows a love for the medium. Obviously shot mostly on film, the movie does use some digital effects when Cam talks to or sees the ghosts of his friends and loved ones.
While the dialogue and writing are lacking in many moments, the addition of dark humor during tense moments helps this apocalyptic thriller pace itself as the film loses the zen-like pacing it uses to introduce us to Cam. Charles Ouda puts on an outstanding performance, playing both the Xanax abusing and hyper-emotional or traumatized aspects of Cam’s character equally well. The trance or dreamlike nature of many segments makes this a very interesting movie to watch and the use of Covid-19 lockdown footage of New York City adds an element of dread and eeriness to the entire film. It really does look like the end of the world. Exposure 36 is a must-see for lovers of thrillers, dramas, and apocalyptic films alike. This outstanding movie is highly recommended.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
Exposure 36 would be equally at home alongside disaster movies, apocalypse movies, thrillers, and science fiction flicks.