Written, directed and edited by King Jeff, Troubleshooters storms onto screens like an indie version of Blade Runner. Rather than hunting Replicants, Sandoval Wolf (King Jeff) is part of a team of “Troubleshooters” hunting down and retiring rogue robots – specifically Home Security Robots. These robots are sold on the domestic market for use in everyday households. The occupants of the house have an implanted chip meaning the robots don’t recognise them as intruders and shoot them. But it appears that some of the robots are going rogue, murdering the occupants, and not responding to instructions to shut down.
The film begins with Wolf undergoing a psychological evaluation that he must take once every year because of the violent and dangerous nature of this job. He’s a little cranky from lack of sleep and just wants to get it over with. His favourite part of the job is getting to save the world, but he doesn’t love how dangerous it is.
Throughout the film, we follow Wolf and his associate, Chilly Wallace (Gorio) as they go about hunting robots. Although it seems pretty badass to us, it’s just another day for them. We also continually cut back to Wolf in his psych eval which gives an interesting framework to the narrative. There are a lot of tense scenes where Wolf and Gorio sweep residential areas to clear threats. The music works well to add to the atmosphere of unease and suspense. King Jeff uses a lot of creative cinematography which visually breaks up the narrative, keeping things interesting especially during the lengthier scenes where tension is being built. I especially liked some of the POV shots that were used.
The pacing is something that could be improved as it seemed there wasn’t a great sense of direction for the most part. However this did reflect perhaps the monotony of the Troubleshooters work. To take on the genre of sci-fi as an indie filmmaker is very ambitious, and I think it’s important to keep this in mind when finding things to criticise. Of course there wasn’t the budget for Ghost Busters style weapons or advanced CGI. But whatever was available has been used with creativity and the intended effect has been achieved. The only thing that did impact the film for me was the audio quality which made it difficult to hear the dialogue at times. This is a shame because the chatter between King Jeff and Gorio’s characters was enjoyable.
An especially impressive fact about the film is the sheer number of hats that King Jeff wears. Not only did he write, direct, edit and star in the film, he also composed the music. To juggle so many responsibilities and pull off a film like this is certainly an achievement.
Watch the trailer below! The film is also available to watch on Tubi here!