The opening sequence of Timothy Chen’s short film, The Decoding Game, would fit perfectly with HBO’s lineup. We’re treated to scenes of various characters, some of them screaming, in picture frames in a creepy house with creepy wallpaper.
The Decoding Game itself seems to be set in no particular place and no particular time. Neither the setting nor the costumes give us much of a clue about the time or place. This is a good thing and adds to the film’s charm. The story is in the same orbit as Battle Royale or The Hunger Games, but with a dark, steampunk edge. It is similar to these films in that it revolves around a contest, the contours of which only become clear with time. But essentially, there are several contestants – unwilling contestants, it seems – who are on the grounds of a mysterious property. The property looks like it could be the country estate of some English Lord. But the contestants must search the grounds for one of several odd machines. The machines appear to be a combination of an old fashioned typewriter and some sort of morse code telegraph machine. The contestants must then figure out the correct code in order to to escape. What makes this all the more intense and alarming is that the contestants are being pursued by what appears to be a maniac in a mask that reminds me of the early Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise.
The madman, though, seems to be more of a man possessed than a mindless monster. He is, by turns, a sadistic killer, but then tormented and seemingly unsure of who he is or how he got here and occasionally he speaks with an unseen interlocutor.
Throughout the film, there are betrayals, reversals and enough tension to choke a horse. Players are shot, tied to trees and stabbed among other things. But, unlike, say, Battle Royale, the violence isn’t meant to be ridiculous, but frightening and disorienting. In this aim, Chen has succeeded.
In yet another layer of excitement, there is a detective trying to figure out what’s really going on. There’s no backstory at all and no explanation about the rules. This creates a bit of a mystery for the audience and gives the whole film a bit of the feel of a noire. Despite the lack of background, I immediately trusted the filmmaker and knew that I was in good hands. It’s easy to see why Chen did not include the backstory, which would have required a lot of tedious and complicated exposition. Doing it this way, we’re in the middle of the action from start to finish.
And because there is not a lot of background here, the audience is free to bring their own interpretations. Unlike The Hunger Games or Battle Royale, there is no media frenzy surrounding the game. My own hunch is that the whole game was engineered by a madman who drew the contestants in under false pretences. And the police caught wind of it and now the detective is trying to figure out the truth.
Although there is no introduction to the story, so to speak, there is, both on the YouTube version of the film and on IMDb, a short and somewhat cryptic diary entry. It reads as follows:
“This was originally a game, But I didn’t expect it to be so inhuman We tried to decipher all the codes to escape from this… To escape the devil’s palm… No one wants to meet him… Trust me, You wouldn’t want to meet him… When the fog is getting thicker… You better hurry and hide… hide…” This short passage doesn’t do much to illuminate the film’s plot, but it does capture exactly the feel and tone. And while on the topic of the IMDb page, The Decoding Game is listed as a TV series, while the film itself says that it is just a film. We will, hopefully glean more information about this in a future interview with the filmmaker. This is by all means a film worth watching. But it is also tantalizing and I hope that it is just the first step towards an actual TV series or perhaps a longer film.
by: Darida Rose
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