SHELL ISLAND | Omeleto Sci-Fi

Two friends meet in a virtual space.


SHELL ISLAND is used with permission from Joe Simmons. Learn more at https://josephsimmons.co.uk.


Frank is visiting his old friend Nelson, who suffers from locked-in syndrome, a condition where the brain is active but all muscles but the ones in the eyes are paralyzed. But Frank can visit Nelson using an innovative technology that allows them to meet in a digital world -- in this case, Shell Island off the coast of North Wales.

The two friends catch up, though their conversation is halting and awkward, especially as the two men once loved the same woman, Molly, who is Frank's wife. But as they revisit the past, Nelson begins to push Frank to confront a buried truth that may change everything.

Directed and written by Joe Simmons, this elegantly spare sci-fi drama short explores the fascinating intersections of virtual reality and digital existence and consciousness, all while weaving a classic tale of love, death and jealousy. Thoughtfully written and directed, Nelson may be paralyzed and unable to move or respond in real life, but new technology allows him to continue living in a virtual space, represented here by Shell Island, which is rendered in cinematography that's equal parts luminous and desolate. More importantly, it allows his old friend Frank to visit and talk with him, letting them continue their strained relationship and perhaps unravel a dark secret from the past.

Captured in sparse dialogue, their conversation is halting and awkward, but as they talk, certain facts emerge. They have known each other for quite some time, but have been out of touch; they were also once romantic rivals for a woman named Molly, who is now Frank's wife. But as the conversation develops, we realize the stilted tenor of their dynamic isn't just due to awkwardness, but something more insidious and buried between them.

Actors Corin Silva and Stan Rawlings convey both the strained background between these two friends, which congeals into something darker and more complicated as the full truth comes out between them -- one that may change everything going forward. It brings SHELL ISLAND full circle, from a thoughtful meditation of technology and the evolution of human consciousness to a stealthy, sinister psychological thriller, in which an innovation proves to be as much a prison as it is an advantage. As always, invention can represent the best in humanity -- or sometimes an extension of humanity's darker impulses.