Project Silence Review: Attack of the Killer CGI Canines

Summary

• A weak plot and laughable characters sink the South Korean sci-fi disaster film,
  Project Silence
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• Unrealistic choices and unlikable characters lead audiences to root for the killer canines, even if their CGI is murky and muddled.
• Scenes of the collapsing bridge and some of the canine attacks are effective, and the film certainly makes you angry about animal abuse.

Killer CGI mutts make mincemeat out of hapless drivers and a scummy politician in an unintentionally comical South Korean sci-fi disaster thriller. Project Silence will have you laughing out loud for all the wrong reasons. The spectacularly contrived plot falls prey to lame genre tropes while one-note characters do everything possible to make themselves doggy lunch. Self-preservation is clearly not their forte. The action takes place on a collapsing bridge during an impenetrable fog, which means the entire film is purposely dark and hazy. Idiocy runs rampant, but there’s admittedly some entertainment value. I was rooting hard for the pooches the whole time.

Project Silence Quickly Sets the Stage

Project Silence‘s opening credits has a set-up montage of lab workers cruelly experimenting on canines in a top secret program meant to target terrorists. We then see a meeting of South Korean government ministers addressing an ongoing hostage situation. Secretary of Security Jung Hyun-Baek (Kim Tae-woo) is criticized for being too political. He should be worried about recovering the captured citizens. His loyal, butt-kissing deputy, Cha Jung-Won (Lee Sun-kyun), brushes off the complaint. The secretary is the leading candidate to become the next president. Nothing else matters but winning the country’s highest office.

Jung-Won argues with his teenage daughter before taking her to the airport to study abroad. She’s upset his career has taken precedence in their lives after her mother’s passing. Jung-Won continues to be a jerk. He stiffs a gas station attendant and tow truck driver after filling up. The card machine is broken and Jung-Won doesn’t have enough cash. He simply drives away towards the airport bridge in a dense fog. On the bridge, a convoy shuttles Doctor Yang (Kim Hee-won) and his canine “Echo” subjects under heavy guard.

Unrealistic Choices and Unlikable Characters

Project Silence loads up characters in quick succession for the CGI carnage to come. The ensemble cast and deadly scenario is established in the opening minutes of a breezy first act. There’s an arrogant professional golfer, and her assistant, an elderly couple, a live-streamer, etc. It’s textbook disaster film exposition, leading the audience to place bets on who’s going to survive. Everyone else stuck on the bridge is expected to be puppy chow when the poop hits the fan. They’re akin to Star Trek redshirts, nameless lambs destined for slaughter without a hint of dialogue except screams of terror.

There are reasons for people to get out of their cars. The bridge begins to buckle in the accident’s fallout. The first panicked instinct is to run from chaos. That makes sense before stupidity takes hold and logic gets chucked out the window. Why wouldn’t you get back into the car upon seeing a pack of savage dogs shredding humans like confetti? There are cars with open doors everywhere. But the brainless lemmings inexplicably flail about when they could easily lock themselves inside. It’s like serving yourself on a platter. This is a completely unrealistic response to danger and begins the film’s slide to silliness.

Jung-Won is framed as a purposely unlikable protagonist. Director/co-writer Kim Tae-gon wants him to realize the error of his soulless ways on the proverbial hero’s journey. This batter is poured pretty thick. Jung-Won has an absurd initial reaction to a situation where his daughter’s life is threatened. No parent would leave their child’s side with ferocious dogs running amok. There isn’t a chance in heck that Jung-Won’s desire for political power supersedes a father’s love and protection. He obviously gets his act together to fight back and save his child. It’s another example of the film artificially creating conflict.

The Killer Comeuppance of Unrealistic CGI Dogs

Project Silence‘s visual effects don’t achieve their goals. The biggest problem is that the dogs don’t look real at critical junctures. They have definition up close, but are too computerized in their movements. This is especially evident when they’re jumping through open windows to maul their victims and in their interactions with each other.

Scenes of them actually biting people pack a little more punch with discernible bloody wounds. But there’s no gore because you never see open skin. The use of limited lighting to cover inconsistent CGI is an old trick. The darkness and fog becomes a crutch instead of a tool. Kim does better with the bridge crumbling and various explosions. It’s no surprise those scenes are the best lit.

Project Silence’s best redeeming value is its honest representation of animal abuse. You cheer for the dogs getting their deserved comeuppance. Seeing innocents killed isn’t gleeful, but the baddies responsible for the vile experiments earn their dismal fate. Kim could have gotten more emotional mileage by focusing on several dogs. There’s a primary pooch who gets all the screen time. The rest are just snarling, forgettable CGI beasts. For a much better “dogs attack” film, try 2014’s White God.

Project Silence, a production of CJ ENM Studios and Blaad Studios, has Korean dialogue with English subtitles. It will be released theatrically on June 12th from Capelight Pictures.