Must-watch Trailer: Local Sci-fi Action Film The Fix, Starring Grace Van Dien From Stranger Things

Showmax has just dropped the adrenaline-fueled trailer for The Fix, premiering on 31 October 2024 as the African streamer’s Halloween highlight.

Set in a dystopian future with toxic air, The Fix follows a model who takes a new designer drug at a party and suffers a shocking transformation. Pursued by forces with competing interests in the drug’s effects, Ella discovers that her mutations could save the human race.

Grace van Dien (Chrissy in Stranger Things S4) stars as Ella, opposite Daniel Sharman (Fear The Walking Dead), SAFTA nominee Keenan Arrison (Binnelanders), Clancy Brown (John Wick 4, The Penguin), and Nicole Fortuin (Alles Malan). 

Watch the trailer:

Also look out for Fleur du Cap winner Tafara Nyatsanza (Beast, Blood & Water), Young Artist Award winner Caleb Payne (The Kissing Booth, Warrior), Robyn Rossouw (Arendsvlei, Summertide) and Tina Redman (Ludik, Savage Beauty).

The Fix was the opening night film at MIPAfrica and the closing night film at Chattanooga, where it won the Dangerous Visions Award. “When you lay your eyes on South African filmmaker Kelsey Egan’s thrilling sci-fi/action/body horror concoction, The Fix, you’ll immediately understand why we knew this had to be our 2024 Closing Night Selection,” says Chattanooga. “We love this movie, from its killer lead performance by the wonderful Grace van Dien to its wild dystopian world and fantastic mutation effects.”

Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company, will be releasing the South African film in the US, Canada and select international territories on 22 November 2024.

The Fix is written and directed by American-born Kelsey Egan, who has lived in South Africa since 2007 and recently received the UK Global Talent visa to work there as well. Her debut feature, the Showmax Original Glasshouse, earned rave reviews globally after its debut at Fantasia, sold internationally, and was the most awarded film at the 2022 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs). 

To find out more about The Fix, we caught up with Kelsey, who also produces the film alongside Allison Friedman (Fantasia Audience Award winner The Mortuary Collection) and South African Greig Buckle (Oscar-shortlisted Life, Above All and #1 US box office hit Chronicle).

Where did the idea for The Fix come from?  

I wrote the first draft of The Fix in 2013. I was interested in how much our perception of the world is impacted by how we are treated, and how much this is informed by appearances. I wanted to explore these ideas through the transformation story of a girl who feels that her appearance is the only thing she’s ever received validation for, but when she experiences this traumatic physical transformation, she has to figure out who she is outside of that… and learn what matters to her more than how she is perceived. 

I have -11 vision. My parents noticed when I was around six because I was using binoculars to see things that were only five feet away. So I got really thick glasses, and since I was also a big reader, I was basically just seen as a huge nerd.

Then the summer before Grade 6, I cut my hair and got contact lenses. When I went to school on the first day, there were a lot of kids there that didn’t know me from elementary school because we had two different schools merge. Based just on appearances – not wearing glasses and having a haircut – the first day of Grade 6 was the first time I ever received warm, open overtures of friendship from kids I didn’t know.

And it was the first time that I was treated in certain ways by boys. It was weird. I was the same person, right? But these small changes in the way I looked made this huge difference in how strangers were engaging with me. I still remember what that felt like; it was such an unsettling experience. It made me really think about how much the way we’re treated is based on superficial appearances, and how that in turn impacts our worldview, and how we feel about the world, and how we feel about ourselves.

The Fix is set in a world where the air is toxic. Did you create Covid as a marketing stunt for your film? 

Look, I’m actually quite offended by this whole Pandemic situation, because if I could have made The Fix when I wanted to, anytime between 2015 – 2019, I would have been considered omnipotent, but now I will only ever be seen as derivative. Alas!

How did you get Grace van Dien from Stranger Things to come to South Africa to star in your film? 

When I first met Grace, I realised her dad was Casper van Dien, who’d actually shot Starship Troopers with Clancy and then Starship Troopers 3: Marauder in South Africa. Some of our crew on The Fix actually worked on that. So one of the reasons why Grace wasn’t thrown at the thought of flying halfway across the world to Cape Town to shoot a movie was because her dad did it, and had a great time. So we got really lucky there. But also, Grace loves the genre and was just incredible about jumping in! It felt like this brilliant, full circle cosmic alignment with her following in her dad’s footsteps, flying to South Africa to shoot a sci-fi, and sharing the screen with Clancy!

We know South Africans love their skop, skiet en donder action movies. Tell us about the fight scenes. 

I was lucky enough to work as a stunt performer for eight years. As I worked my way up in the industry, I tried to work for as many departments as I could. I figured that to be the best director I could be, I needed to understand where every department was coming from. So I started training with my stuntie friends because I wanted to get better at action directing. No one was more shocked than me when this training actually led to stunts castings and getting the opportunity to work as a stunt performer on major sets. 

I got to audition for Mad Max: Fury Road, and fell out of my proverbial chair when I was selected for their stunt team. I got to participate in the most incredible training and rehearsal process, first in Cape Town and then in Swakopmund, where I doubled for one of the five wives while all the fight choreography was being developed. It was incredibly cool. 

The whole time, I felt like a total imposter but I’m so grateful I got to have the experience. Probably one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received in my life was the opportunity to learn and grow with stunt professionals who were infinitely more skilled and talented than me. I didn’t stay for the whole shoot, but being there for the rehearsal process was remarkable, and I’ve never lost my passion for stunts. 

In The Fix, there’s one specific fight sequence with two exceptionally talented friends I worked with on Fury Road: Matthew Van Leeve and Russ McCarroll. We had so much fun choreographing that together. Then next thing I know, both were overseas working on huge movies, like Furiosa. That really hit home how lucky I was that they were even available to come play. 

I have a huge amount of gratitude towards the stunt family in South Africa and what they brought to this movie. Everyone really pulled out all the stops. 

Beyond all the fight scenes and the superhero origin story, what’s the deeper message for you? 

We know that we’re causing harm to the earth. We know we’re doing damage. We know the choices that we’re making are going to have a long-term impact on future generations. And yet, we as a species are consistently resistant to change. It’s almost like our Achilles Heel. That’s one of the themes I wanted to explore with this film and Ella’s transformation. As Spider says in the trailer, “Either we change or we die.”

South African filmmaking has focused on being hyperlocal recently, and making content for its own audience. In contrast, The Fix feels like it’s made for a global audience. Why the change in approach? 

I think we should be developing projects for the international market to build a more sustainable local industry. We have a really strong service industry that’s been making movies for international audiences for decades: it’s something we’re really, really good at, but we’re reliant on international work coming to our shores to shoot.

If the South African industry can develop a reputation for delivering original, commercially-viable work for international markets, we will hopefully be able to attract more international partners to produce more globally-minded projects.

A big part of this is raising awareness around South African talent. I wanted to provide an opportunity for gifted South Africa actors like Keenan, Tina, Robyn, Tafara and Nicole to co-star alongside our international cast, and enable our dynamite local crew to helm head of department roles that are often reserved for international crew on service jobs, to tell a globally relatable story.