Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The Discovery'

Written by Scott Edwards

It has been a great debate for centuries about what happens to a person after they die, and it will continue to be a hot topic until there is definitive proof one way or the other. While some people say that they see a bright light and step away from it, others say that they saw nothing after they died, so the question still remains. It could just be a person’s brain unloading electrical impulses that causes someone to see something, or it could be another plane of existence that is bringing you in. The thing that frightens so many people about death is not knowing what it holds for them when the door is opened, and we may never really know despite people trying to put an end the controversial topic. 

A year after showing scientific proof that there is a life after death, the suicide rate skyrockets around the world and nobody is able to slow it down. Doctor Thomas Harber has taken to the airwaves in an interview about the Discovery, but the session is cut short when a member of the camera crew decides to kill himself on air. Needing to move away from the blame of his findings, Thomas has taken himself out the mainstream and is trying to help people that have tried to kill themselves and failed over the past couple years. Knowing that there is something more to death, Thomas is looking for a way to record what the mind sees and give a deeper explanation to what really happens when people reach ‘There.’

Wanting to put an end to his father’s work, Will catches a ride on the ferry to see him and winds up running into Isla who seems to have the same feeling about the Discovery that he does. Falling for the stranger right off the bat, Will has to get to his father’s new home and voice his concerns about what is going on. Seeing that it looks like a cult is living the new compound , Will’s brother Toby assures him that there is no death allowed in the area, unless of course it is for scientific purposes. Trying to convince his father, after he gets out of the death machine, that his work is hurting people, Thomas does not agree with his son’s findings and only wants to map out what really happens after someone dies to provide help for the people that need it most.

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Disappointed this his father’s work will not stop, Will takes a walk on the beach and sees his friend Isla from the ferry preparing to take her final breath. Saving her from a watery grave, Will brings her back to the compound and is able to get her admitted and the help that she needs. But she does not need someone keeping an eye on her, but someone that is able to help her open up and feel something once again, since the death of her child has made her numb to most interactions with people. Suffering from some of the same feelings, after being legally dead for a minute as a child and finding his mother after she committed suicide, Will is trying to keep his life on track and knows that she is his answer.

Wanting to try his new idea of recording what happens after someone dies, Thomas sees that someone will have to be dead for a much longer time than he expected and needs a fresh cadaver. Taking their search to the local morgue, Will and Isla are able to find someone that has been dead for some time that meets the requirements that Thomas needs. Hooking up the dead man up to the machine with no results, Will stumbles in and finds that the video mapping is working, but does not understand what it means. Seeing a hospital where the man seems to have been, Will visits the building and sees that it has been remodeled and nothing is what it appeared in the video. Needing to get his answers as to why and when the man was there, his investigation takes him down a road he did not expect.

I will admit that as of late, the movies that Netflix has been bringing to the screen, for me at least have left me wanting more. Going in to this one with little to no expectations, the opening scene of the movie is enough to keep you glued to the screen throughout. The banter between the characters is very enjoyable and you might find yourself giggling a little more than you expected to when dealing with such a depressing issue such as death. The growth of the characters is great and even the things that might be macabre for most people has enough levity to keep the audience involved. I will however say that I am not a fan of the ending, you are given clues throughout and even though I saw it coming, I wanted so desperately to like it, since I gave the rest of the movie a chance. With a chance encounter leading to more, a family with issues, people needing help and a death machine that is able to prove an afterlife, overall it is a good story that keeps you thinking about what you will become when you are no longer on this earth. Happy Viewing

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