Bulk

Writer and director Ben Wheatley is not easy to pin down to any genre. Ostensibly associated with the horror he’s proved adept elsewhere, such as with Free Fire and High-Rise. Though on the multi-million-dollar blockbuster he came unstuck with the anaemic Meg 2: The Trench.

With Bulk, Wheatley returns to what could be described as his low budget indie roots. Its filmed mostly in black and white, with some colour segments with a few sets and model work.

The core of the story is physics genius Anton Chambers (Marc Monero) with a multi-dimensional experiment that has gone wrong. He is the only one who can fix it but is happy observing the chaos he has caused from a position of self-made safety.

However his colleagues aren’t so happy so set about on a quest to reach Chambers and resolve the situation. This isn’t straightforward as from the off Wheatley plays with the viewer with actors in multiple roles of the same character Karl Kessler (Noah Taylor) and journalist (possibly) Corey (Sam Riley) and Aclima (Alexandra Maria Lara). With inserts of what appear to be an inquest into the disaster.

An initial flurry of visuals and ideas pass in front of the eyes with what appears to be little coherent narrative. This eventually settles down and the strands come together around halfway through the film. It is however quite a journey getting there.

The sci-fi elements are clear with the hard science of the physics that is rather well blended with film noir overtones of Corey in a trenchcoat being bundled about. Some of the effects are throw backs to the toy miniatures that were prevalent in the 50’s sci-fi boom. At one point there’s a vague resemblance to the Earth’s landscape post Skynet and the rout of humanity.

Another element is that while the fourth wall while not actually breached is certainly chipped away at. There are a few nuggets lobbed in that give the film the appearance of a huge in-joke at the expense of the viewer.

That could come across as arch. But Wheatley does enough to keep the viewer interested and there’s a playfulness about the whole project that buffs some of the harder edges.

Bulk will be touring UK cinemas in January and February 2026.

More details here: Anti-Worlds Releasing Shop