Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Playback’

Written by Scott Edwards

One of the things that I remember from high school is working on special reports. While we were given an outline of what the report should be on, it was up to us to make the choice of what the report would really be about. Always trying to find something out of the ordinary to research, my reports were always off the path and completely different than anyone else in the class. I don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it is the way that my mind works and at least my teachers appreciated the originality.
​
Julian Miller has found something that he is extremely passionate about for his report on what changed the community. Finding out about a murder that took place in his town by Harlan Diehl, it seems to be right up his alley and he has gotten his friends to join him in making a little documentary about it. Being able to use a friend’s house for the weekend, Julian is well on his way to making this project out of this world, but there is still something missing, the original footage that was shot after the murders took place fifteen years ago.

With help from his friend Quinn, Julian might be able to get what he wants, but it will come at a price unknown to him. Quinn works down at the local television station, but he has a side job of placing hidden cameras all around town, especially in places where young girls reside. Passing on the footage to Officer Frank Lyons, Quinn has a good deal going. Being able to pull himself away from what Lyons expects from him, Quinn is able to search the archives and find some of the footage that Julian asked him for. Finding an uncut take from the day after the murders, Quinn sees Harlan Diehl and after that, his entire life changes.

Becoming possessed by the ghost of Harlan, Quinn is now on the hunt for more answers and wants all of the police footage from the murders that he committed. Trying to blackmail Officer Lyons into getting it for him, the possessed Quinn is ready to play hardball and has found that he has a different talent. Being able to possess other people through live feeds, Quinn has his sights on finding out who is the direct decedent of Harlan Diehl. But Julian is not too far behind as his studies into the murders have left him digging for more information before his report is due. Finding out that Harlan is a decedent of Louis Le Prince, the father of video, Julian becomes privy to information about the old inventor and what his goals really were. Knowing what is coming for him and his friends, Julian has to find a way to get the untamed spirit out of his friend Quinn, before time runs out on everyone that he loves.

As far as possession movies go, this one came out pretty good. I was thinking after the videos started to flicker that it was going to be more like The Ring, but then the possessions started, and the story took a different path. You have got to love the interactions between all of the kids and how they thought that Quinn was old and creepy. The drive that Julian has is what moved the story forward and not being happy with the information that was found in the normal papers made you like and hate him at the same time. As different members of the group became possessed, it was fun to watch as the Diehl crime scene was slowly recreated from scratch. Stay Scared.

---