In the Dark Reviews

Skip 'Electric State,' check out Skyline Drive-In instead

Kirk Boxleitner | Mar 20, 20250

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Neither an overloaded budget nor the star power of Chris Pratt or Millie Bobby Brown could make Netflix's "The Electric State" live up to its source material.

Netflix's most-watched recent release leaves a lot to be desired for the fans of its source material, while the Skyline Drive-In Theater in Shelton is starting its next season with some distinctive new films.

"The Electric State" started streaming on Netflix on March 14, and is based on the 2018 illustrated novel of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag.

The book and the movie are set in an alternate version of the 1990s in which advanced robotic and virtual reality technology have left human society devastated, but from there, the two works could hardly be further removed, in either tone or intent.

The book is hauntingly oblique, unfolding the enigma of its dystopian scenario with a sedately dreamlike atmosphere, its stark visuals and spare text drawing the reader in with disturbing yet intriguing hints of what they refrain from fully revealing.

Ironically, by exercising restraint and allowing the audience's imaginations to fill in the blanks by themselves, Stålenhag's "Electric State" achieved a more immersive sense of world-building.

The book feels like a succession of tantalizing snapshots from a mist-shrouded history that could have been, and made me crave further opportunities to explore that potential parallel past.

I wasn't the only one who felt that way, as Stålenhag's "Electric State" garnered praise from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, the New York Journal of Books and NPR, the latter of which named it one of the best books of 2018.

To Netflix's credit, they took seriously the task of adapting "The Electric State" to screen.

Helming the project were Anthony and Joe Russo, co-directors of four of the most critically and commercially successful films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and nearly three dozen episodes of the cult classic sitcom "Community."

Besides casting "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown as the movie's lead, Netflix loaded the rest of "The Electric State" roster with MCU alums Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito and Anthony Mackie, plus crackerjack character actors Brian Cox, Alan Tudyk and Colman Domingo.

Especially when armed with a reported budget of $320 million, which would make it one of the more expensive films ever made, one might wonder what could go wrong?

Having seen Netflix's "Electric State" for myself, the short answer is, "A lot."

The film's clunky, front-loaded, exposition-laden opening makes the merely decent, workman-like introductory rollout of the movie adaptation of "Ready Player One" feel deftly executed by comparison.

Stålenhag's "Electric State" captured an ominous mood of muted decay that felt like the cyberpunk answer to the anxiety-inducing shadows and surreality of something like "Silent Hill," but Netflix's "Electric State" plays out like a more expansive version of "Five Nights at Freddy's," that's been deliberately scrubbed of its more existentially disturbing elements.

Why embellish Stålenhag's narrative by establishing that Walt Disney pioneered the creation of this timeline's robots, if you're not going to wield that brand to engage in any real or meaningful commentary?

Otherwise, it's as pointless and pandering as casting Woody Harrelson as an android Mr. Peanut (yes, the Planters Peanuts advertising mascot), who's the leader of the robot rights rebellion.

The world-building of Netflix's "Electric State" is as crudely bolt-welded as its CGI animatronics, and even if consumed strictly as eye-candy, I suspect you'll be checking out well before its bloated two-hour-plus runtime wraps up.

Moving to more promising fare, the Skyline Drive-In, which is one of only five drive-ins left in the state, is opening its 61st season Friday, March 28, with a double bill of "Death of a Unicorn" followed by "Opus."

"Opus" is a psychological thriller, starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis and Amber Midthunder that premiered at Sundance earlier this year. It depicts a retired popular musician's release of a new album at his private compound that quickly turns into an attempted cult induction for his select pool of guests.

"Death of a Unicorn" is an even more sardonic comedy horror film, starring Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Richard E. Grant, Will Poulter and Anthony Carrigan, in which a hit-and-run of a unicorn on the road leads to seemingly miraculous scientific discoveries, followed by a systematic campaign of slaughter.

Although I haven't had access to advance screenings of either film, their trailers alone are compelling enough that I have to applaud the Skyline Drive-In for making such daring selections.