Infinitely Dense, written and directed by Ace Thor, is an intriguing but uneven psychological thriller that uses augmented reality as a gateway into a constant issue: loneliness – a solid feature debut.

Desperate to escape his loneliness, Tom (Glen Steele) merges his mind with a limitless augmented reality system to shape existence on his own terms. The results are intoxicating. But as the system blurs the lines between his will and his subconscious, a psychological horror takes hold. Tom inadvertently unleashes dark, repressed demons, and his unhealed traumas become the true architects of his reality — proving the human subconscious is a force no technology can delete.

When life just isn’t working out exactly as you planned, you dream of ways to make it more like what you imagined. So why not have augmented reality (AR) do that for us? That is where we find poor Tom. A man overwhelmed by sadness, he has tried many things to connect with others, with very limited success.

Glen Steele handles Tom with care and brings immense thoughtfulness to his performance. You buy his isolation and his lack of ability to escape the nightmare he has brought upon himself. A compelling sensitivity runs through the unresolved trauma Tom refuses to reconcile with. It surprises how well it works, combining suppression with avoidance. Ace Thors script makes it easy to feel for our protagonist.

The film’s strength is how we can relate to Tom’s innermost fears. He’s lonely, yet he wants to get out or drastically change his life to do something… More. Or to at least feel like what you are doing is worthwhile. So, when the augmented reality picks on those worst fears and attacks Tom’s mind with it, it is genuinely terrifying.

Ace Thor juggles a lot of hats in his feature debut, Infinitely Dense, taking on writer/director duties as well as editor and cinematographer. Perhaps it is too many pieces, as the weakest element of his work here is on the editing side, where there are instances when it could have been tightened up more, which is a shame, as for the most part this is a very interesting film, with very strong concepts.

Add to this, there are instances when Thor lets the script go a touch too abstract for its own good, given the story he is telling here. He goes for a big swing here and perhaps throws in too many ideas that never fully form, so we don’t feel as much as we should. While not all of those bold swings work, you have to give it to Thor for taking them; in debuts, concepts are often too muted.

Infinitely Dense shows a lot of promise and is still well worth a watch; just come in with tempered expectations.

★★★

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