Synchronic (2020)

Synchronic is the rare genre film that feels both wildly imaginative and emotionally grounded, taking a mind-bending sci-fi hook and filtering it through the weary, intimate bond of two New Orleans paramedics who’ve seen too much. Moorhead and Benson give the movie a sticky, late-night vibe—part urban nightmare, part existential fever dream—where each eerie image and pulsing musical cue deepens the unease without turning the story into a puzzle-box stunt. Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan anchor the strangeness with lived-in performances that make the stakes feel personal, so the thrills land harder and the quieter moments linger longer. It is grisly and drug-centric, and it rewards viewers who like their horror thoughtful and their answers a little slippery, but if you want something original that’s as soulful as it is unsettling, this one sticks.

Synchronic is aiming for a moody, cerebral blend of paramedic realism and time-bending drug horror, and you can feel Moorhead and Benson reaching for something melancholy and big-hearted beneath the genre trappings. The problem is that the pacing drifts and the plotting often feels like it’s jogging to keep up with its own terrific premise, so the mystery can start to feel more like a series of ideas than a tightly escalating thriller. Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan give it grounded, likable performances, and there are a few genuinely eerie, inventive images, but the character work is thinner than the emotional stakes demand. If you want a sharp, scary ride with clean rules and a punchy payoff, this may frustrate you; if you’re happy with a thoughtful, slightly scruffy sci-fi mood piece that prioritizes atmosphere over momentum, it’s worth a look.