Poor Sarah has big problems: her mother is persistently annoying, her boyfriend is giving off signals that their relationship is ending and she just doesn’t have any serious friends. Then it gets worse. After coughing up blood for a while, the doctor tells Sarah she has a terminal disease.
Not all is lost! In this near future, dying citizens can have a clone made to fill the void their demise would leave. So Sarah decides to undertake the expensive procedure partially out of spite at her mother and soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend.
Clones are only identical in their appearance when they’re created but their minds and personalities are empty. The “original” must then imprint as much of themselves on to the clone before death arrives. The more time the duo spend together, the closer the clone will become to being indistinguishable to the deceased…usually.
New Sarah quickly becomes a disaster. She’s nothing like the original, she’s pleasant to be around and a pain in the ass. Ergo, the ex-boyfriend and mother prefer New Sarah, leaving Sarah even more isolated and depressed. If things couldn’t get any worse, after 10 months, Sarah’s condition goes into remission and it appears she is going to live!
Sadly, no, Sarah’s current problems will now be dwarfed by New Sarah invoking her rights as per the 28th Amendment which says a clone can apply for personhood. Within this law is a provision; one year after the clone files the petition, the original and the clone must fight a duel to the death for there can only be ONE SARAH. The government airs the duels for entertainment purposes as well as utilizing them to set the record straight on who won the right to the contested personhood.
I loved Dual. It’s a low-budget movie with a kick-ass premise on par with a great episode of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror without it feeling padded for time. Throw in Karen Gillan as the troubled heroine and Aaron Paul as her combat trainer, it was nearly perfect! Much like other underrated, low-key Sci-Fi flicks Gattaca, Looper and Robot & Frank, this proved how awesome Sci-Fi movies don’t need to be covered in special effects to tell what was an excellent story to begin with. Execution can overcome glitzy crap.