Extricate

Filmed over the course of a single day and with minimal budget, short thriller Extricate is a flawed but impressively-realised vision of a post-apocalyptic London that has fallen foul of lawlessness, militarism and plague.

Survivors Hazel (Bennette Ngoma) and Joshua (Tafara Nbangani) face a desperate struggle in a world that has fallen apart, when they come across a mysterious mute child, Cairo (Jayden Ndombasi). Cairo possesses mysterious power that may hold a key to rebuilding society, but the threat of scavengers, fascist militias and a fatal disease that has crippled the world mean they have to use all of their meagre resource and strength to bring the child to a sanctuary where such an outcome may be possible. The sacrifices make their pair wonder if their choices are worth the risk.

Extricate’s budget and smaller-scale production mean that the lofty ambition of director Sterling Nlongo at creating a fully-formed sci-fi thriller aren’t fully met – but this entertaining short is one hell of a go at it. Some of the more complex and action-packed developments of Hazel and Joshua’s quest are relegated to voiceover – a presumed necessity due to the scale such scenes would demand. What is left are the quieter character moments between the pair, Jayden Ndombasi’s Cairo and later Alisha Henry’s malicious dictator Mabel – and these deep moments of introspective exchanges stand up as emotional and thought-provoking examples of why post-apocalyptic movies have great potential to speak to the human experience. The themes of sacrifice, loyalty and commitment to a greater purpose are all explored through considered moments that develop the story more than any large-scale gun battle ever could.

Bennette Ngoma’s Hazel and Tafara Nbangani’s Joshua share the majority of the screen time, and their chemistry echoes the likes of Joel and Tess in The Last of Us as an imperfect and desperate couple who are faced with a difficult choice that places their existence in great danger, but requires selflessness for the benefit of all. Their differing perspectives on what to do with Cairo are the film’s most intriguing aspect, as is the choices both face when danger inevitably tracks them down. Ngoma and Nbangani convince as hardened, embittered and embattled survivors, whose humanity is frayed but not fractured.

There are times where the film creaks under the pressures of its small-scale production. Much of the film is limited to the interiors of warehouses – the sparse outdoor sequences convince but there is a lack of scale that mean the scale of societal downfall or the reach of the militarised organisation hunting Hazel and Joshua down is hard to envision. There are occasional hiccups with the dialogue where vocal matching feels off, and clunky dialogue is another symptom of too much story, too little time. An unsatisfactory and open-ended conclusion also falls flat – one that aims for a complex deliberation on sacrifice but leaves audiences feeling short-changed.

Despite some clear shortcomings, Extricate is an impressive success for director Sterling Nlongo. It outperforms a small budget to imagine a devastated world and explores it with strong characters who act convincingly for the world they live in.