A wise man once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This motto isn’t just for superheroes, it also applies to companies who may have a level of influence. The motivation for any business should be to improve the lives of their customers through their products or services, not endanger them. In filmmaker J Lee Vertz’s sci-fi/thriller S86, a shady corporation finds itself at the center of a scandal when an illegal mind-controlling drug threatens to wreak havoc on humanity as we know it.

Kill Your Own Creation to Save Humanity

The pharma giant, Pharmacyn, may appear to be a stellar health company, but behind the scenes there is evil brewing. One of the company’s top scientists, Dr. Love (Johnny Rocko), operates in the shadows on his passion project: a mind-control drug capable of turning human subjects into obedient killers. In the shadow of darkness, Dr. Love and his cronies abduct innocent victims and conduct illegal human trials by injecting their captives with a substance mysteriously called Solution 86. So far the experiments have been unsuccessful, as everyone who receives S86 dies. That is, until they test it on Subject 13 (Saw Gud).

Subject 13 defies the odds and survives the brutal injection, turning the pain into his superpower. This catches the attention of another scientist, Dr. Andy Jensen (Robert Snow), who recognizes the impact of this moment and knows that he is the only one who can put a stop to the inevitable madness that’s coming. Despite Dr. Jensen’s attempts to expose the illegal operation, Dr. Love quickly tries to silence him. Dr. Jensen is kidnapped, tortured, and left to fend for himself against Subject 13, who has been given orders to destroy him. Like Frankenstein’s monster, Dr. Jensen must ultimately kill his own creation to save humanity.

Man vs Human-Made Machine

Like a twisted game of cat and mouse between man and a lethal human weapon, S86 is a thrilling watch from start to finish. Viewer adrenaline is high throughout the film’s runtime, as we watch Dr. Jensen and Subject 13’s blood-soaked chase to the death. Director J Lee Vertz, who also acts as Executive Producer, Editor, and Sound Designer, smartly places emphasis on the music and sound design, which provide deep creative meaning rather than just cinematic flair. The sonic storytelling shapes the film’s pacing and psychology; J Lee knows when to activate composer Mezus’ beat-heavy score to invoke the thrills while also leaning into the quiet, more suspenseful moments by utilizing silence.

Director’s Statement

“At its core, S86 is about systems that normalize harm through distance and design. It explores how language, procedure, and corporate logic can strip humanity from decision-making, allowing violence to effortlessly exist in the shadows without spectacle. The film is less interested in villains than in environments—spaces where moral responsibility is diluted until no one feels accountable. S86 is… a film born from collaboration and persistence. Ultimately, it reflects my belief that sometimes the most unsettling stories are not about imagined futures, but about the structures we already live inside—and how easily we learn to accept them.” – J Lee Vertz, director

Takeaway

Proving that both style and substance is achievable in horror, S86 avoids traditional genre tropes to create unique visceral tension.