Two New Orleans paramedics’ lives are ripped apart after they encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug with bizarre, otherworldly effects. A film by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, starring Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton, Ally Ioannides, Ramiz Monsef, and Bill Oberst Jr.

The story follows two paramedics, Steve Denube (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis Dannelly (Jamie Dornan), as they respond to a series of bizarre emergency calls. They encounter people with unusual injuries, including wounds from ancient weapons, snakebites in a second-floor hotel room, and a man who falls down an elevator shaft with a smile on his face. Their strangest case involves a charred corpse found in an abandoned amusement park.

teve begins to notice a common thread in all these bizarre cases: he consistently finds packets of a drug called Synchronic at each scene. He initially suspects it might be a new designer drug that has recently hit the market, still relatively unknown to most people. However, he struggles to find a logical explanation that could link this mysterious substance to the strange phenomena he and his partner have encountered.

A designer drug is a synthetic substance created to mimic the effects of existing illegal drugs, often with slight alterations in its chemical structure to avoid classification as an illicit substance. These drugs are typically designed in laboratories and can include a wide range of psychoactive compounds, such as synthetic cannabinoids and various stimulants. They are often appealing to users because they may evade legal restrictions and standard drug tests, allowing individuals to experience a high without facing legal consequences.

One fateful night, while Steve and Dennis are out on a call, Dennis’s daughter Brianna (Ally Ioannides) has vanished without a trace. As they investigate her disappearance, Steve once again finds a packet of Synchronic at the scene.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence linking Synchronic to all these incidents, Steve takes matters into his own hands. Determined to prevent any more potential victims, he decides to buy up all the remaining Synchronic from a local store in the area. And he learns that this particular drug has been discontinued.

Later, Steve encounters Dr. Kermani (Ramiz Monsef), a man who claims to be the creator of Synchronic. Dr. Kermani explains that the drug stimulates the pineal gland, allowing users to perceive time in its true form — not as a linear progression, but as a circular continuum, like a record. Synchronic acts as a needle, enabling users to jump between different time periods. However, Dr. Kermani has recently discovered a dangerous side effect: when taken by teenagers whose pineal glands haven’t yet calcified, the drug can cause them to physically disappear from the present time.

The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland located in the brain, specifically in the epithalamus, between the two hemispheres. Its shape resembles a pine cone, which is how it gets its name. Typically, it measures about 5 to 8 millimeters in size and weighs around 100 to 150 milligrams. The primary function of the pineal gland is to produce and secrete melatonin, a hormone derived from serotonin. Melatonin plays a crucial role in regulating circadian rhythms, which are the body’s internal clock that governs sleep-wake cycles. The gland releases more melatonin during darkness, signaling the body that it is time to sleep, and less during daylight. The pineal gland typically begins to show signs of calcification around the age of 30, with the prevalence of calcification increasing significantly as one ages. Studies indicate that calcification is rare in children under the age of 5, but by age 17, about 40% of individuals may exhibit some degree of calcification. The process continues to develop, reaching a plateau in prevalence around the age of 30.

Determined to uncover the truth, Steve decides to test Synchronic on himself. His experiments confirm the drug’s astonishing ability to transport him to the past. Through multiple trials, he begins to understand the rules governing this time travel: Each pill’s effect lasts for seven minutes. To return to the present, he must remain in the exact spot where he first took the drug. His physical location when taking Synchronic determines which time period he’ll visit. Steve grows confident in his ability to rescue Brianna, his best friend’s daughter. He believes she is currently stuck in a different time and unable to escape back to the present.

Written by Justin Benson and co-directed by Benson and Aaron Moorhead, SYNCHRONIC is a captivating sci-fi thriller. The film delivers a mind-bending narrative, bolstered by outstanding performances from its two lead actors, who portray best friends each grappling with their own significant personal struggles.

Despite its considerably low budget, the film features impressive production design and beautiful cinematography. The soundtrack is particularly noteworthy, enhancing the overall viewing experience.

Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. ― Albert Einstein

Fans of Benson and Moorhead’s previous works, such as RESOLUTION and The ENDLESS, will notice a connecting thread among these films: the recurring motif of a red flower.

SYNCHRONIC premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2019. The film receive a limited theatrical release on 23 October 2020, by Well Go USA Entertainment.