Midlands Review of Replica The Shadow
midlandsmovies • September 10, 2020
Replica The Shadow
Directed by Jake Bentley
2020
Starring: Michael Harrison, Carmelo Viviani, Daniel Newton, Andrew Hollands
The ThreeLancers (see what they did there?) is a prolific production company founded by Michael Harrison, Jake Bentley and Charlie Humber-Thomas. Alongside freelance work, the trio has made a name for themselves writing, directing and producing short films and perhaps their most notable works is the Replica series.
Replica started life four years ago as a trilogy released online. These shorts followed Isidore (Michael Harrison), a replica sympathiser (perhaps a replica himself) who is part of the revolution against humans.
If it sounds familiar, that’s because Blade Runner hangs heavy over the series; instead of the titular replicant hunters, we get Shadows – a covert special operations team; the lead replica is named Roy; while the backstory of Aurora (Shantelle Keech) riffs on the climatic face-off between Deckard and Roy Batty. Even the name Isidore is taken from a secondary character in Philip K. Dick’s source novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Far from a straight rip-off however, the films cleverly focused on smaller moments. It’s never implied that Isidore is key to the revolution, in fact much of it happens off-screen and the filmmakers use their Lincolnshire surroundings to great effect, framing them as colonies or areas outside of vast metropolises. This allows them to use CGI sparsely, making the futuristic backdrops or action sequences all the more impressive.
The latest addition to the series is The Shadow, which acts as a prequel and follows an unnamed operative (Harrison) hunting down the first replica (Carmelo Viviani). Though the plot sounds even closer to that of Blade Runner, The ThreeLancers have clearly grown through their prolific output and this feels less like a homage and more like its own entity.
Harrison is stoic as The Shadow; a man facing an unprecedented task and being forced the question the world around him. Viviani also makes the most of the smaller antagonist role, clearly taking influence from Rutger Hauer but never parodying.
Whereas the earlier entries were guilty of hammering home plot points through the dialogue, this lets the action speak for itself. While never purposely obtuse, it lets moments breathe so that the audience can come to their own conclusions. Throughout the brief nine-minute runtime, a vast world is built that fits in wonderfully with the Replica trilogy.
Matthew Tilt
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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