A million alien portals open on Earth in this trio of sci-fi shorts – but the effect is bland, not awe-inspiring
Here’s a close encounter of the disappointing kind, an anthology movie featuring a trio of sci-fi shorts from the crew behind the V/H/S horror films. Released in the US as Doors but renamed Portal for the
UK, the three films together tell an alien-contact story set on Earth after a million portals open up – giant doors that look like they’re covered with shimmery iron-filings from school science experiments. Whatever planet they hail from, the portals do not appear to come in peace; half the world’s population vanish into them.
The best of the shorts is number three, titled Lamaj, which stars TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone as Jamal, a gentle and thoughtful scientist with a lustrous beard who lives alone in a cabin in the woods. Like Amy Adams’s linguist character in Arrival, Jamal communicates with the portals, and invites another scientist – his ex – over to share the moment. They stand there, eyes shining, faces radiant with the pure pleasure of scientific discovery. Then the cops turn up.