A terrifically tense sci-fi thriller, Prodigy makes effective use of its intimate setting to make for an engrossing genre piece filled with depth and suspense.

When many think “sci-fi”, the obvious reaction is larger than life VFX of the Star Wars kind. Yet this is not an accurate representation of the whole genre. From THX 1138 to Moon, often the smallest of films can represent the sci-fi genre just as well. After all, it’s the ideas and character that often make a film, especially a science-fiction film.

Prodigy is the latest case in point. The feature film debut of Alex Haughey and Brian Vidal, Prodigy features much in the way of engrossing performances and taut tension from a clever, wordy screenplay that entraps with every revelation. The film begins with unorthodox psychologist Dr James Fonda (Richard Neil) ushered into a top-secret military compound. He is there to analyse perhaps the most surprising example of a “national security threat” to fall on anyone’s ears: a 9-year-old girl named Ellie (Savannah Liles). It doesn’t take long for Dr Fonda to find that Ellie is not your average freckle faced redhead, with great abilities and intellect masking a deep seeded secret that can destroy her and everyone around her.

Impressive is the level of stakes at play throughout Prodigy. Haughey and Vidal’s wordy, engrossing screenplay keeps viewers on their toes throughout the films brisk yet jam packed 80 minutes, as a battle of wills and wits between a dishevelled psychologist and his extraordinary subject manifests itself in many surprising and thrilling ways. Key among that is the emotional stakes: we care for these characters and their backstory. There is fine drama here amongst the genre filmmaking, resulting in a thriller that has as much depth as there is suspense.

The casting of young Savannah Liles is a coup for Haughey and Vidal. It’s one thing to write a role of an incredibly intelligent, manipulative and dangerous 9-year old, yet it’s another thing altogether to play it. Liles does so with much conviction and authority, cementing her performance as one of the more surprising and chilling of its kind. Great too is Richard Neil as the psychologist with a heavy idealism that constantly counters with Ellie’s cynical front. The off the charts chemistry between Liles and Neil is key to the films success.

A truly independent feature, Prodigy makes the most out of its limited resources and a well written script. It will be very interesting to see what Haughey and Vidal do as a follow up as their careers progress.