When you watch a low-budget sci-fi movie, it’s often obvious where the corners are cut. Maybe the cast is small, or maybe a story moment that would be a special effects extravaganza elsewhere is kept off-screen. But smart sci-fi movies can incorporate those low-budget elements into their plots, making them assets, not liabilities. A 2014 movie did exactly this, creating a claustrophobic, one-location sci-fi thriller that worked despite its micro-budget.
Coherence, written and directed by James Ward Byrkit, didn’t have much of a budget or script. Much of the film, which follows a group of friends at a dinner party questioning their reality as a mysterious passing comet messes with the fabric of existence, uses improvised dialogue. Now, Deadline reports that Byrkit is developing a follow-up movie, giving audiences a new opportunity to experience his strange world and signature filmmaking style.
Coherence relies heavily on improvisation for much of its dialogue.
Details are scarce: we don’t know if this unnamed movie will be a prequel or sequel, or if it will depict another group of characters as they cope with the same sci-fi phenomena seen in the first movie. Coherence did end on a big cliffhanger, as the lead character, Emily, must deal with a replica of herself. Could Coherence 2 be a game of cat and mouse between the Emilies, or is there another reality-shattering event ahead?
Whatever the movie is about, Byrkit can again prove that less is more. His micro-budget thriller finds its creepiness not in the sci-fi elements themselves, but in how its very human characters react to the threat. Other movies have since attempted to replicate its tone, like 2018’s Await Further Instructions and 2023’s Leave the World Behind. All prove that you don’t need a big budget to tell a fascinating story, and now Byrkit will hopefully build on his success.
