This belongs to that now ubiquitous genre of documentary which is propelled along by a suspenseful soundtrack, lots of moody closeups, and a sense that we are about to discover some awful truth -- but which ultimately leads straight down the same old rathole. The viewer takes a sudden plunge into the subculture of biohacking, which seems to consist largely of people who self-embed software devices in their bodies and concoct mysterious DNA potions to inject themselves with.
Oddly, many of these biohackers seem to have experimented on themselves in other ways, including implanting horns on their heads, extending their ears with black discs the size of dinner plates, and hammering various lengths of metal spikes in different parts of their bodies. Your reward for watching them disfigure themselves with various experiments for 90 minutes is that you get to hear them toot their own horns endlessly about how brilliant they are, and how they are revolutionizing... something. It is about then that you have the uncomfortable feeling of being in the company of Attention Vampires.
Against this backdrop, the story of one Aaron Traywick play out. He sees himself as a super scientist (with scant if any credentials) and a master marketer (with zero credentials), and he is determined to cash in on the biohacking phenom. So he organizes the motley crew of biohacker misfits and starts promoting "cures" for AIDS, herpes, aging and just about any other malady the flesh is heir to. Eventually, he comes to a bad end, in a meditation tub of all places. There is a bit of mumbling about whether it was the result of some deep conspiracy, or whether he killed himself. (No one has the temerity to ask if it's possible that he just dropped dead from injecting himself with one of his "cures.") And then, with a few more closeups and a bit more ominous music, the whole mess comes to an end with the obligatory closing captions about what became of the key players. And surprise, surprise -- absolutely nothing happened to any of them. None of their self-experiments worked. They're all in the same hopeless muddle they were in 90 minutes ago. Imagine that!
Oddly, many of these biohackers seem to have experimented on themselves in other ways, including implanting horns on their heads, extending their ears with black discs the size of dinner plates, and hammering various lengths of metal spikes in different parts of their bodies. Your reward for watching them disfigure themselves with various experiments for 90 minutes is that you get to hear them toot their own horns endlessly about how brilliant they are, and how they are revolutionizing... something. It is about then that you have the uncomfortable feeling of being in the company of Attention Vampires.
Against this backdrop, the story of one Aaron Traywick play out. He sees himself as a super scientist (with scant if any credentials) and a master marketer (with zero credentials), and he is determined to cash in on the biohacking phenom. So he organizes the motley crew of biohacker misfits and starts promoting "cures" for AIDS, herpes, aging and just about any other malady the flesh is heir to. Eventually, he comes to a bad end, in a meditation tub of all places. There is a bit of mumbling about whether it was the result of some deep conspiracy, or whether he killed himself. (No one has the temerity to ask if it's possible that he just dropped dead from injecting himself with one of his "cures.") And then, with a few more closeups and a bit more ominous music, the whole mess comes to an end with the obligatory closing captions about what became of the key players. And surprise, surprise -- absolutely nothing happened to any of them. None of their self-experiments worked. They're all in the same hopeless muddle they were in 90 minutes ago. Imagine that!