Atropa is director Eli Sasich's love-letter to gritty, gunmetal-colored sci-fi movies of the '80s. The 10-minute short, a concept piece for potential feature film, tells the story of a security officer chasing the titular Atropa as it tears across the galaxy. Something strange is afoot — the research vessel isn't where it should be, and the ship's denizens, woken from cryosleep by the pursuing protagonist, have the wrong date on their calendars. Things only get weirder when the ship, floating in deep space, is involved in a collision.

Sasich's concept short raises a lot of questions, but with a 10-minute running time, has no space to answer them. But it works so well as a proof of tone — successfully capturing the essence of movies such as Alien and Blade Runner — that viewers have demanded answers since it was first posted last year, and Sasich has a good case for being able to expand the short into a feature film should he get funding. Kickstarter may be an option. The director has experience with the crowdfunding platform, having successfully secured almost $22,000 for HENRi 2.0, a short film about a sentient spaceship and the robot it builds.

HENRi Trailer from Eli Sasich on Vimeo.