Director Christopher MacBride is no stranger to pushing the limits of storytelling. His previous film, The Conspiracy, explores the world of conspiracy theories through its two protagonists. His new sci-fi thriller Flashback, starring Dylan O’Brien (Maze Runner), takes things to the next level.
The film follows Fred (O’Brien), a man having violent flashbacks surrounding the disappearance of his high-school classmate, Cindy. Talking with Syfy.com, MacBride talks about his love of sci-fi and working with Dylan O’Brien.
“Sci-fi is my favourite genre,” says the director. “The type that I gravitate towards most is the Philip K. Dick-type mind-bending science fiction. I love stories like that, whether it’s novels or movies… high-concept, brain-teasing sci-fi. Flashback is definitely influenced by Philip K. Dick. The idea of not understanding your own identity is really interesting to me. “Science fiction is a genre where you can explore all types of wacky ideas, and it sounds like MacBridge pulls inspiration from several places while making sure to put his personal style into his narratives.
Casting Dylan O’Brien was kismet. MacBride was looking for an actor who had the look, and authentic martial arts skills, and O’Brien was it. “We needed somebody who could be 17 and 30 realistically, which is tough. One of our producers, Russell Ackerman, brought up Dylan O’Brien and asked what I thought. I said, “Yes!” I could see he was a real actor. We met, and he got the script. He not only got the role, but he got the whole story, so I was really impressed.”
Flashback premieres in select theatres and VOD on June 4.