See what happens when your self-defense mechanism is removed in Defenseless.

Synopsis

When a neurotic guy has his defense mechanism stolen, he’ll need the help of a mysterious woman to get it back before he descends into madness.

Review

Continuing on with my reviews of Finite Films we have Defenseless. The first few minutes of this film lead you to believe that you’re watching Nathan (Max Kleinman) going to his ex-girlfriend Naomi’s (Jillian Leigh) party, whereupon we meet her new fiance and also see that she still loves to insult and degrade him.

Then things get weird.

A beautiful woman, Natalie, lures Max out to the parking lot where he’s black-bagged and hauled off by masked people. They shock him and stick a syringe into his ear, extracting a glowing pink liquid. We find out that it was his defense mechanism, which vanishes at the same time from the front seat of the vehicle he’s been kidnapped in.

Thrown out of the vehicle, Natalie pulls up and yells for him to get in while giving chase. This is where I broke down laughing as Nathan’s own sanity comes into question. His hallucinations of his ex-girlfriend vacuuming naked in the back seat and her own verbal jabs at him are hilarious given the situation.

I won’t spoil the ending if you’re reading this before watching. Suffice to say, this all comes to a head in a rather well-choreographed fight sequence with some nice effects.

I especially enjoyed the banter between Natalie and Max, which were also well-acted by Sophie Green and Max Kleinman. The two characters are both suffering from the effects of having their defense mechanisms removed but both have different side effects. Natalie loses her inhibitions and becomes more domineering, a trait that, while hinted at, is something she wishes she had to begin with.

The production values on this are pretty tight and they even manage to pull off a believable car chase with gunplay. While the effects are there they do not take away from the story, which manages to cram several character arcs into 27 minutes.

One other thing of note is that we do see many of the same actors that appear in other Finite Films. It’s a film troupe so it should be expected. But it doesn’t get old for me. They’re all good actors, and they immerse themselves into each role to the point where I don’t even notice the actor, but rather the character.

What did you think of Defenseless? Leave a comment below.

Information

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Country: United States
Release Year: 2011
Runtime: 27 mins, 10 secs.
Written by: Alex Calleros and Michael Tucker
Directed by: Michael Tucker
Cast: Max Kleinman, Sophie Green, Jillian Leigh, Garrett Liggett, Shashona Brooks, Mikie Beatty, Dan Beckner, Ryan McDuffie, Alex Calleros

YouTube Channel: finitefilms
Facebook: FiniteFilms
Official Website: Finite-Films.com
Twitter: @finite_films