Meten psychosis

Film Review

Written by Kineograph

On the worst day of his life, a heartbroken, laid-off man chases a dropped ring into traffic and wakes up in a fantasy world, where he becomes a hero. Then he wakes up in a hospital and has to wonder if any of it was real.

Why This Film Stayed With Me

I loved watching this film. From the first minutes I was hooked, and I stayed hooked until the final shot of the hero’s eye. It was exciting, it was emotional, and it never felt like a short made on a small budget.

The creator, Walley, made it entirely by himself. By his own notes, he is an interior designer and a beginner in filmmaking, and English is not his first language. That makes what is on the screen even more impressive.

An Isekai Story in Live Action

If you watch anime, you know the isekai idea: a regular person is pulled into another world and becomes a hero. I am so used to seeing this story drawn in anime that it was awesome to see it as live action.

The film tells it with a sharp twist. Did Walley really travel to another world, or did a broken mind invent it during a long coma? The title says it all: metempsychosis is the idea that a soul can move into another body, and the film never tells us which answer is true.

A Day That Goes From Bad to Worse

The film wastes no time. Walley is laid off, then he sees his fiancée leave him for good. She gives back his ring, the ring slips from his hand and rolls into the street, and he runs after it without thinking.

A short flashback shows why the ring matters so much: it was his mother’s, and her last words to him were “Find your happiness.” In just a few minutes the film makes us care about a man who has lost everything. Then a truck hits him, and he wakes up in a new world.

Best Scene: The Fall Down the Hill

One of my two favorite scenes comes right after he arrives, between 3:10 and 3:20. Walley rolls down a hillside while a bird-like creature swoops in at him.

The camera turns as he tumbles, and it all looks very real. In just ten seconds, the film tells us that this world is beautiful, wild, and dangerous. I was hooked.

A World Worth Exploring

After he fights off two goblin-like monsters with a sword, two red orbs fall out of their eyes, and he keeps them because they might be valuable. Those orbs turn out to matter. In this world, monsters carry glowing cores that power everything from weapons to airships.

He is soon taken to the Ironheart Guild, where he is registered as an adventurer and placed with the Ember Veil, a party that is a member short and too poor to hire a veteran. Its leader, Nyra, is a white mage who keeps the party together, and Rasha, a fox-eared fighter, and Elara, an elf with a rifle, round out the group.

The world design is a joy. I loved the city on the water with its steampunk towers, its clock-like buildings, and the airships in the sky, and I loved the red moss that is slowly taking over the land. It gave me the feeling that there is a lot more story behind every corner.

A Beautiful Original Song (Best Original Song)

The song earns the Best Original Song recognition. Between 7:20 and 10:10, it carries a whole training sequence with the lyrics “I am not afraid of who I am going to be. I found my purpose.” It is a beautiful original song, and it gave me chills.

It is the perfect kind of music for a hero’s rise. As Walley trains and grows stronger, the song grows with him. The creator says he made the music himself using a program on his own computer, which makes it even more amazing.

The Snake Boss and the Chosen One

At 9:11, a giant snake boss appears, and I said “wow” out loud. It looks amazing, and the glowing red eyes in the red forest make it feel like a real threat.

Then comes a moment any fantasy fan will love. Everyone says only the chosen one can lift the legendary sword, and the party starts to leave, thinking the quest was a waste of time. Walley is the one who pulls it out. At 10:11, the film jumps three years ahead, and the hero is now famous.

Best Scene: The Great Battle (Best Visual Effects)

This is the scene I loved most, and it earns the Best Visual Effects recognition. From 11:13 to 12:38, the film gives us a sword fight with beautifully choreographed moves, including a slow-motion slide at 11:35, and then a huge battle with thousands of monsters and dragons fighting each other.

It is insane how good it came out. The scope is huge, with thousands of monsters filling the field, and the camera moves right through the action and past them without any problems. It was exciting to watch, and I would call it pure perfection.

A Camera That Moves With the Story (Best Cinematography)

The cinematography earns the Best Cinematography recognition. In the quiet moments, the camera lets us feel his loss, and in the fall down the hill it spins with his body. In the battle, it flies through the chaos without losing track of what matters.

I also loved the colors. The red forests and the red glow of the monsters’ eyes stand out against the stone and mist, and they tie the whole world together.

The Sacrifice and the Question That Stays

At the end, Walley sacrifices himself to stop the demon king. He tells his friends, “Don’t worry. I got this,” and at 13:53 he kills the boss and wakes up in a hospital bed in the real world. The doctor tells him he has been in a coma for five years.

He still has the ring his mother gave him. We see a flashback of his party, where he is carving their name into the ring, and then we return to the hospital. He takes the ring off. The camera moves in on his eye, and the film ends without telling us if it was real. I love an ending that stays with you.

My Only Complaint: It Was Too Short

I have only one complaint, and it is a good one: it was too short. I wish it had been much longer, so I could enjoy it the way I enjoy an anime like Frieren, with time to get to know the party, to explore the guilds, and to follow the journey step by step.

The creator says in his notes that there are a few scenes he would like to add and improve, so maybe there is hope for more. I would be the first to watch it.

A Treat for Fantasy Fans

If you love anime isekai, you will love this. And if you enjoy games like Old School RuneScape, with their guilds, quests, and monster hunting, I think you will love this film too. It captures that feeling of starting as nobody and becoming a hero.

Final Thoughts

An exciting, emotional, and beautiful live-action isekai. The story hits hard, the song gives you chills, and the final battle is pure perfection. It is a remarkable feat for a one-man project, and I highly recommend it. I only wish there was more.

Scene Breakdown

2:52 — The main character leaves his job and sees his fiancée getting into a car with another man. She tells him she was going to tell him tonight that she cannot do this anymore. She gives back the ring, and it falls and rolls into the middle of the street. We see an old woman give him that same ring and say, “Find your happiness.” He grabs the ring from the street and is run over by a truck. He wakes up in another world.

3:10 – 3:20 — Best scene. He rolls down a hill as a bird creature flies at him. The camera movement is beautiful as it turns while he falls. It looks very real.

3:30 – 4:22 — He is attacked by what seems like two goblins. He finds a sword and kills them. Two red marble balls fall out of the goblins’ eyes, and he takes them because they might be valuable.

7:20 – 10:10 — “I am not afraid of who I am going to be. I found my purpose.” A beautiful original song.

9:11 — A snake boss monster appears. Amazing. Then he is the chosen one who pulls out the sword.

10:11 — Three years later.

11:13 – 12:38 — Best scene. At 11:35 there is slow motion as she slides in a sword fight with beautifully choreographed moves. Then comes a huge battle with so many monsters and dragons. It is insane how good this scene came out, with thousands of monsters fighting each other and the camera zooming in past them without a problem. An incredible scene.

13:53 — He kills the boss and wakes up in a hospital bed in the real world, or his world. The doctor tells him he has been in a coma for five years. He still has the ring his mother gave him. He has a flashback of his party, where he is carving their name on the ring. We go back to the hospital, and he removes the ring. We see a close-up of his eye, and it ends without telling us whether it was real or not.

Watch the film: https://youtu.be/aPNY2sG1Bkc