Tech noir is investigations, conspiracies, and betrayals
It’s not always man vs. machine
That’s at least how I saw it in The Groundstar Conspiracy.
A research computer complex called Groundstar is destroyed in an explosion, killing six people and leaving one survivor named John Welles, who is suspected of stealing a miniaturized fuel system.
Talk about a classic bit when he is finally saves and comes to, he has amnesia!
Sticking to cliches who comes to investigate? A silver haired fox named Tuxan a classic anti-hero. His methods are questionable, but his hair is exquisite.
With some good old interrogation and surveillance, Tuxan tries to piece together Welles’s past and uncover the identities of his collaborators, who he believes are trying to silence Welles and prevent him from revealing their secrets. Everyone is very gun happy.
Violence is clearly everyone’s favorite solution.
Guess what the twists aren’t over!!! This movie is an absolute maze, and it messed with my head because there is truly no one you can believe.
The real John Welles was a computer technician who died shortly after the explosion! The man’s true name is Peter Bellamy!
Who is Peter Bellamy you may ask?
Honestly, he’s not the victim; he’s just a sucker who was used and then thrown away, somehow the center of everything, yet in the end easy to disp. Our protagonist was caught in a web of manipulation and deceit. Left with whatever scraps of his true life he could remember, of course, more accurately whatever scraps he was told about or had nightmares about.
This tale ends with Tuxan admitting he was weaving a web to catch the true conspirators. I was right not to like him from the start. Bellamy was simply bait, the true John Wells now on ice, or should I say in it… low blow, I know, but guess what’s lower, his body! Kidding, kidding, he’s in a drawer, not a grave.
This was all to catch this mean son of gun. Smug, rich, and a weird amount of free time.
After all that I need a nap. But first let me give you a character map!
“The Groundstar Conspiracy” Key Characters
- Peter Bellamy/John Welles: The amnesiac
- Tuxan: Hard-boiled investigator and dirty cop
- Senator Stanton: corrupt official
Honorable mention!
- Nicole Devon: Femme Fatale
This is truly a classic of the tech noir genre.
Morally ambiguous characters, the blurring of Lines between good and evil, The constant surveillance and paranoia. I mean it was funny in a creepy way.
“I see you”
The film’s visual style and atmosphere evoke a sense of suspense and unease, reflecting the core anxieties and themes of tech noir.
