A band of outlaws is up against a convoy of clone cops in this science fiction comedy filmed entirely in Nashville.
Film production on its own is a stressful endeavor, but what can be debilitating for aspiring filmmakers on the DIY-grassroots level is finding and securing funds for passion projects, and using what financing they do receive to craft the best version of itself that it can possibly be. Thankfully, local Nashville filmmaker Danny Dones and the talented team at HiPhi Productions did just that with their first feature film collaboration Clone Cops, and the results amount to an uproarious effort driven by clever storytelling, great performances and absurdist sense of humor.
Clone Cops takes place in an alternate reality where the fictional conglomerate NefariCorp has a hand in almost every aspect of human existence, from entertainment and politics to technology and law enforcement. In those last two fields, they have innovated a new cloning mechanism that replaces human workers in all industries with a brand of clones known as Replicants (all portrayed by the movie’s co-writer, Phillip Cordell). They are manufactured in a laboratory managed by “One Tank” Frank (Henry Haggard) who balances training his new assistant Freddie Jones (Rashad Rayford) with supervising a batch of Replicant cops as they march toward their daily assignment.
On this day, that mission is to thwart and incapacitate a band of outlaws in their safehouse before they can carry out a heist. Upon reaching their destination, the Replicants immediately wound the mercenaries’ leader Porter (Laura Holloway), leaving the team’s hand-to-hand combat expert Fera (Quinnlan Ashe) to try to save her life. As this is going on, weapons sommelier Brick (Ted Welch) is teaching newcomer Kinder (Schyler Tillett) the ins and outs of his stockpile in preparation for the next wave of Replicants, while hacker Cipher (Allison Shrum) tries to make sense of how the Replicants were able to breach their sanctuary in the first place.
What makes Clone Cops a great example of ultra low-budget cinema is the inherent confidence and unique voice from its filmmaking team. It all starts on the pages of its hilarious script which criticizes our present infatuation with corporations and mind-numbing entertainment with spot-on absurdity, sharp progression from scene to scene and interesting worldbuilding. NefariCorp goings-on between Frank, Freddie and their intimidating superior Murphy (Dean Shortland) are sharply juxtaposed with well-written character development between the outlaws and even a live Twitch stream watching over everything, altogether suggesting that our media, law enforcement, consumerism and politics are all under the same umbrella in this dystopia.
Clone Cops is also enjoyably insightful for its cathartically amusing thesis about how the modern-day hubris of corporate tech has rendered itself dangerously unintelligent. Director Dones composes this statement through a novel approach to visuals, from a NefariCorp employee orientation video with green screen aesthetics reminiscent of Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! to the practically produced and cartoonishly huge helmets decorated with sunglasses and a mustache that altogether communicates the ominous illusion of safety.
The exuberance from director Dones and co-writer Cordell also extends to the ensemble cast’s strong acting work. Ted Welch demonstrates great comedic timing as he did in Adult Interference and in playing the comic relief of Chest, and Allison Shrum conveys Cipher’s drive for recognition with a reserved intensity and natural determination. Meanwhile, Quinnlan Ashe is stellar at displaying Fera’s inner resolve as well as unpredictability; her facial expressions sell Fera as a character ready to explode in a flurry of murderous strikes at any awkward glance. Back on the comedic side, Cordell himself is hysterical not only as the Replicant law enforcement, but also in the multitude of roles his clones fill in this world’s entertainment sphere, such as a four-person team of heroes solely created to sell action figures and a toy car.
Clone Cops is funny, thoughtful and entertaining, but the low budget does show some chinks in the proverbial armor, particularly in the awkwardly staged fight sequences. It’s also worth noting that the movie doesn’t use its coverage well enough to better endear us to these characters as their relationships grow over the runtime. It’s as important to cut on emotion as it is to cut on action, so lingering on a long two-shot during an intimate conversation between two characters drags down the pacing.
But that allows for other elements of Clone Cops to contribute more style to the film, and composer Chris Gentle and visual effects supervisor Charles Royce are up to the challenge; both possessing the creativity to respectively provide the film with propulsive, aggressive synthesizers and bold, vibrant graphics that meld this world into a colorful, frightening nightmare that aids in providing the humorous catharsis in Dones’ splendid comedy.
Audiences will find plenty of laughs in the dialogue and visual gags, in addition to a portentous, yet relieving message that corporate tech’s contemporary stupidity will lead to its undoing sooner rather than later in this exceptional example of DIY filmmaking. It’s the kind of movie that makes viewers yearn the best for everyone involved, and that’s why curious moviegoers should seek out Clone Cops.