Not Rated
2025    72mDrama, Biography
5.995%5.7
In the aftermath of a conspiracy-minded father's sudden death, his daughter inherits his patent for an experimental healing device.
Directed by Courtney Stephens
  • Callie HernandezCarrie / Writer / Producer
  • Sahm McGlynnSahm
  • James N. Kienitz WilkinsThe Executor
  • John HernandezSelf
  • Tony TornTony
  • Paul KleimanPaul
  • Lucy KaminskyBabby
  • Joe SwanbergJohn
  • Caveh ZahediHenri
  • Eleni SikelianosThe Landlady
  • Philip GoodPotential Relator
  • Nicholas J. FacciFuneral Home Director
  • Courtney StephensDirector / Writer / Producer / Editor
  • Molly HernandezExecutive Producer
  • Rafael Palacio IllingworthDirector Of Photography
  • Dounia SichovEditor
  • Thomas E. DimockMusic
  • Twig HarperMusic
  • Sarah DavachiMusic
  • Emile KleinSound
  • cultfilmlikerJuly 10, 2025
    *Death Grips’ “Culture Shock” voice* you need to vibrate higher Somebody’s seen Twin Peaks ACTUALLY EXPLAINED (No, Really) Very in the vein of *Common Side Effects* but it’s an experimental, case-study-esque mumblecore film. Love America’s broken healthcare system just inspiring so many art projects! Such a fun trade-off! I’m a part of this cult now tho
  • Kevin WardJune 30, 2025
    Invention is an experimental elegy masquerading as a mystery. It follows Carrie (played by Callie Hernandez) as she inherits a cryptic patent from her conspiracy-loving father and sets out to uncover its meaning—if any. The story appears to be one of grief, obsession, and the strange artifacts left behind by those we’ve lost. But what makes the film so striking is what it doesn't reveal upfront: this isn’t entirely fiction. The archive clips of Carrie's eccentric father pitching his inventions on local TV? They're real, and they’re actually Hernandez’s own late father. Those segments were, ironically, my favorite part when I assumed they were clever recreations—pitch-perfect nods to 80’s local TV weirdness and fringe inventors. Learning they were real gave the film a more personal charge, but also left me slightly disappointed, having stripped it of the artistry I had projected onto them. That tension between performance and reality is part of what makes Courtney Stephens’ film so layered, though it may require a rewatch with this new understanding to fully appreciate. The film resists conventional narrative catharsis, and without knowing the backstory, the emotional stakes can feel rather opaque.

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