Director: Jordan Galland
Stars: Kris Lemeche, Brooke Nevin, Joey Kern, Danny Masterson, John Ventimiglia, Christine Evangelista
Alter Egos is set in a world where superheroes have been given government funding, but since there are no supervillains anymore their budget is being cut. Meanwhile, Fridge (Lemeche) is dealing with a relationship crisis because his girlfriend (Evangelista) is cheating on him…with his alter ego. He’s summoned on a mission by C-Thru (Kern) and as he tries to work through his emotional problems he meets Claudel (Nevin), who he instantly connects with and he feels that she can help him work through his problems.
I was pretty impressed by Alter Egos. It’s very low-budget, and unfortunately this shows in the effects and the costumes (my biggest gripe with the film is the costumes, they’re way too cartoonish and I can’t believe anyone would have taken superheroes seriously in this world). But given it’s low-budget, small cast and isolated location it actually managed to create quite a large world with a good back story. I like the idea of superheroes being funded by the government and then being subject to budget cuts, and there’s a thread of mystery running through the film while Fridge is dealing with his emotional problems. I also liked how it dealt with some of the little problems that superheroes must face, that we don’t really get in the bigger-budget films.
The cast worked well together and there are a couple of emotional beats that give the film some weight and substance. It’s a tight script that manages to accomplish everything it set out to do and achieves a good balance between the wider plot and the personal struggles of Fridge. I do like superhero movies that are outside the Marvel and DC universes because it’s nice to get a different angle on things, and while Alter Egos isn’t groundbreaking I found it entertaining and I think fans of comic books will enjoy it too. It’s a shame that the budget was so low because I do think the effects and costumes could have used an upgrade, but it did a lot with what it had to work with and it’s a nice little film.