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Synopsis
Two college students, Brandon and Haider, discover a pair of ancient artifacts that grant them extraordinary abilities. As they experiment with their newfound powers, a mysterious collector begins hunting them down, determined to claim the artifacts for his own domination. What begins as a lark becomes a fight for survival — and the fate of multiple worlds hangs in the balance.
Shot in a loose, semi-improvised style with the cast playing versions of themselves, the film blends coming-of-age camaraderie with sci-fi spectacle on a shoestring budget.
Brandon & Haider Review: A Curious Micro-Budget Experiment
Brandon & Haider arrives with a premise that promises cosmic stakes — ancient artifacts, students granted impossible powers, a collector hungry for dominion — but the execution reveals a film operating in a completely different register than its marketing suggests. Writer-director-star Brandon Newbury wears every hat here, and the result feels less like a conventional action-adventure and more like a home-movie passion project that somehow secured a theatrical slot.
Direction and Concept
Newbury's ambition is evident: he wants to fuse Chronicle-style found-footage intimacy with Indiana Jones mythos. The G certification for an "action, adventure, science fiction" film is the first signal that something unconventional is happening — there's no violence, peril, or intensity here that would trouble a five-year-old. The "Self" casting across the board (Newbury, Haider Khan, Joshua Newbury, Logan Craig, Thomas Laskowski, Faith Magyar all playing themselves) suggests a mockumentary or meta-narrative framework, but the film never fully commits to or clarifies this conceit. Scenes that should crackle with tension instead play out like rehearsals, with the camera often feeling like an uninvited guest at a backyard production.
Performances and Chemistry
The cast's natural rapport is the film's saving grace. Khan and Newbury share an easy, unforced dynamic that feels genuinely lived-in — the kind you only get from real friends riffing on camera. When the script lets them simply exist as students navigating sudden power, there are flashes of charm. But the "Self" device backfires during the high-stakes beats; it's difficult to invest in a cataclysmic battle for the fate of worlds when the actors never step outside their own personalities. Faith Magyar brings a welcome groundedness as the skeptical friend, but her character disappears for long stretches.
Who Might Enjoy This
Viewers seeking polished VFX, coherent world-building, or narrative momentum will be frustrated. But there's a niche audience — micro-budget cinephiles, fans of DIY genre filmmaking, families with young kids craving a harmless "superpowers" story — who may appreciate the earnestness. The film's heart is never in doubt; its craft simply hasn't caught up.
Pros
- Genuine chemistry between the leads feels unforced and lived-in
- Harmless, family-friendly superpower fantasy with zero objectionable content
- Earnest DIY spirit that respects the audience's intelligence more than many studio products
- Faith Magyar's grounded performance anchors the looser sequences
Cons
- Narrative structure meanders; stakes never feel tangible despite apocalyptic premise
- The "playing themselves" conceit undermines dramatic tension and character arcs
- Action sequences lack choreography, spatial clarity, and visual imagination
- World-building is vague to the point of incoherence — rules, lore, and motivations remain fuzzy
- Pacing drags in the middle act; 90-minute concept stretched thin without runtime confirmation
Verdict
An endearingly messy micro-budget experiment that wears its heart on its sleeve but lacks the resources and discipline to match its cosmic ambitions. Charming in spurts, tedious in others — best approached as a curiosity rather than a conventional genre entry.
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Frequently Asked
Is Brandon & Haider worth watching?
Only if you enjoy ultra-low-budget, DIY genre experiments and can forgive rough craft for earnest charm. Mainstream viewers will likely find it tedious.
What is Brandon & Haider about?
Two students (played by the real-life filmmakers) find ancient artifacts that grant them powers, then face a collector who wants the artifacts for world domination. The cast plays versions of themselves in a semi-improvised style.
Is Brandon & Haider suitable for kids?
Yes — it carries a G rating with no violence, language, or mature themes. It's a harmless, if narratively muddled, superpower fantasy for young viewers.
Who directed Brandon & Haider?
Brandon Newbury, who also wrote the film and stars as himself alongside Haider Khan, Joshua Newbury, Logan Craig, Thomas Laskowski, and Faith Magyar.
Is Brandon & Haider a found-footage movie?
It uses a mockumentary-adjacent style with the cast playing themselves, but never fully commits to the found-footage format. The camera perspective is inconsistent.
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