User Reviews

This would have to be the worst movies that I have seen for about 10 yrs. The acting was sooooo bad and flatter then a pan-cake. Special effects where very basic and of primary school standard. Some of the plot line was good though and I feel that if it was given to a professional film maker and script writer and established actors, the movie would have been way much better. Really dont' bother watching this crap.

I saw the "World Premiere" at the NZFF too! Event 16 is Pearson's first feature film. It is a low, low-budget sci-fi. This was made on a shoe string with only an insane imagination, devoted friends, cast and crew that were willing to help out. Event 16 should be seen as an example that if you want to make a movie and know how - where there is is a will there is a way.

I found the plot a bit complicated but I did enjoy trying to piece together the clues. It held my attention the whole way through. I thought the rain falling and not wetting the car was funny and added to the charm... a director's greatness is not always evident in her/his early films - James Cameron's directorial debut, 'Piranha II: The Spawning', However when you look closely, examine just what Pearson could do with no money and minimal crew; you begin to realize that a true talented filmmaker is at work here.

I think that it will become a cult classic. Event 16 works for me because I admire the way at which it was made and unlike most low budget features this is one that I would definitely like to see again.

I didn't want to go to Event 16. My partner dragged me along. I've had my fill of no budget garbage that you need to make allowances for because some sad fan boys made it for nothing. Oh boy was I wrong. Event 16 is incredible. The plot turns and twists and surprises right at the end but latter thinking about it, it didn't ever cheat, all the clues are there as to why things happened. I liked the awkwardness between the lead actors, my partner thought they were a bit wooden but I thought they got it just right. That pre-breakup she's over him but he's not over her felt real. The FX are mostly very good. Every now and then something jars but on the whole I was able to keep suspending my belief. What really sets Event 16 apart from the normal no budget stuff it the flawless camera-work. It rocks. It rolls. It glides. It chases… it looks like it was shot by the entire King Kong first unit with cranes, jibs, dollies and steadicam. How did they do it with no money? I had to go back and watch again and if anything I'm even more blown away by the camera-work. Event 16 sets a new high for no budget films and I can't wait for the DVD with some EPK extras to tell us how they did some of the stuff they did.

As a person who likes a linear narrative, with clear signals as to who the characters are, I struggled to follow this film. We jump back and forth in time (that was fairly clear, though not enough was done with makeup to age the characters who went in the usual direction at the usual speed), and most of the characters take over each other's bodies at some point or another.

At the second Wellington screening (which I saw yesterday) the director said it was aimed at the Playstation generation, who are used to characters with multiple incarnations. I hope someone who is good at that will explain the narrative to me.

I found the characters fairly engaging, though the two (three?) who seemed to be officials in charge of preventing temporal paradoxes or some such were never quite explained, and even a psychopathic killer needs *some* motivation. The central relationship (geek and girlfriend) was entertainingly unstable.

This movie will look OK on TV. On the big screen you could sometimes see the pixels. The sound was adequate, except that sometimes the synching was enough off that I wondered if it was deliberate, to create a "not really him speaking" effect.

As a Wellingtonian, I enjoyed the images of Wellington in 1893, the present, and the 2020s, and the surreal treatment of most cityscapes.

I'd call this a "Bad Taste" for the 200Xs. It's got the same clunky New Zealand makeshiftness (number 8 wire, we call it), the same homespun characters moving in a world beyond their control.

I predict people will rent this movie more than once or buy it (on DVD in October) to try to figure it out, and go on to watch it cultishly, like "Bad Taste".

Pearson said this movie was effects-driven (as was BT) and his next movie will be more character- and story-driven. I look forward to that, and then to someone giving him some money to make his LOTR, King Kong, etc.

We were having a "best of" and "worst of" New Zealand movie month in our flat. Saw a lot of interesting films but "Event 16" is one that stood out to me. Lumped in with the "bad" NZ films it really didn't belong there with stinkers like "Snakeskin" and "Maiden Voyage." Sure the acting was patchy and the script lost me a few times but I found myself enjoying the ride. It reminded me of the kid/adult made for TV movies of my youth. Like "The Tomorrow People" but with time travel. Hammy acting and mad effects. What did surprise me was to read here that it was a no budget film as it looked quite good on our TV. So maybe not a brilliant film but not as bad as the rating here implies.

OK first up there is no way I can be impartial as I was the DOP for Event 16. That said I'm really pleased with how it came out. Thank you for all the kind comments about the camera work. Any given Sunday for a year I would be out with Derek and the rest of our small crew getting through the shot lists. It's hard to believe just how well the continuity held up. My lighting kit consisted of whatever I could get that weekend so often I would be trying to recreate what I did a few weeks ago with a completely different set of lights. It was a lot of work but seeing the finished movie, what Derek has done with it makes it all worthwhile. Event 16 is out on DVD now in New Zealand and I have to say it looks good there. Some of the limitations of the DVCam format we shot on don't stand out on the smaller screen. Some people still need a ven diagram to work out what is happening but personally I like a movie that needs a bit of thought. The behind the scenes stuff is good and doing the commentary track was a lot of fun, even if I was suffering from the flue and sounded like I had a broken nose, I think it ads a lot to the Event 16 experience. I hope if you stumble across Event 16 you enjoy the ride for what it is. I'll be checking back in here so if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the forum below.