Futuristic film 'Equals' suffers from lethargy, indifference

The one thing that Drake Doremus' cautionary, futuristic drama "Equals" never catches is its own deadly disease, Switched On Syndrome - SOS - a severe, debilitating condition producing unstable emotional states and unpredictable behavior such as empathy, emotions and intimacy.

Yep, the sincere "Equals" belongs to that small but resilient genre of science-fiction films in which a faceless totalitarian society tries to squish the humanity of people and transform them into functional cogs populating the cleanest, most sanitized sets since George Lucas gave us "THX 1138."

Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart play Silas and Nia, two workers for The Collective, a 1984-ish system employing people resembling workers in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," but with spotless white uniforms.

Silas notices Nia. He observes her, the curve of her neck, her thin lips, her deadened eyes, her ... No!

He worries he may be in Stage One of SOS, the disease that leads to suicide or electroshock-like treatments inside a nefarious facility called the Den.

Nia turns out to be a "hider" who can use her stony, Body-Snatchers demeanor to mask her emo nature.

Doremus, director of the Sundance grand jury prize winner "Like Crazy," has plenty of room to play with Nathan "Moon" Parker's sparse script, but he keeps such tight control on the characters (sizzling with slow-burn chemistry from Hoult and Stewart) that after SOS strikes, their movie remains indifferently blah and unmercifully humorless.

Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver prop up the supporting cast as members of an SOS support group. David Selby, the werewolf from the original "Dark Shadows" series, pops in as a boring Collective boss.

The sleek production design and utilitarian costumes have no equals.