Portal Runner
Portal Runner
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Portal Runner is a 2021 YA sci-fi in which a teen who can travel through parallel worlds must save his family from the evil chasing after him. Expect some action violence, including scenes in which the lead character creates traps made out of mirror shards and knives as a way to stop the person who's chasing after him through one portal after the next. Character shoots a rifle. A teen girl keeps a bag of pot and a pipe hidden in her room for her boyfriend. Wine drinking. Teen sibling name-calling like "doink" and "turd" as well as words like "crap." Some tween and teen issues happening throughout, including breakups with significant others, sibling rivalries, peer pressure, and arguing with parents.
Community Reviews
Pretty scary movie for kids
Report this review
What's the Story?
In PORTAL RUNNER, it's Christmas Eve 1999, and Nolan (Sloane Morgan Siegel) is a 15-year-old boy who uses mirrors and shiny things as portals to parallel worlds. The problem is, he's being pursued by an evil being that keeps him on the move. Each time he changes worlds, things are different, and in this latest world, his bedroom is occupied by Mae (Elise Eberle), an angsty teenager and older sister that he has never met until now. As he tries adjusting to this newest world over Christmas Eve dinner with his mother Clara and Y2K-obsessed Uncle Boon, Nolan starts to realize that Mae might be the only person who can help him get back to his own world. But Mae thinks her little brother is acting a lot weirder than his usual nerdy self, and it's not until an impromptu trip to a pawn shop for Y2K survival supplies does Mae start to believe Nolan. As Nolan explains how he got into this predicament in the first place, the two must find a way to enlist help from Clara and Uncle Boon to stop the evil force from finally catching Nolan and unleashing chaos.
Is It Any Good?
This is a book-based Y2K fantasy sci-fi with a low budget that's balanced out by the acting and story. Portal Runner establishes the time (December 1999) through signposts like the screechy sounds of internet dial-up and an uncle who's obsessed with the cataclysms that await society when the year 2000 hits in just a few days, but it devotes a fair amount of time to evergreen teen and tween topics like dating and breaking up, peer pressure, angst, sibling rivalries. These side stories work, and maybe even help to distract from the cheesy special effects that do as much to give the movie a '90s vibe as an NSYNC poster on the wall and the references to "The ShamWow Guy," for better or worse.
There's nothing especially groundbreaking about it, but the movie is entertaining for what it is. Unlike so many low-budget movies, the acting does a lot of the heavy lifting to keep the story engaging enough, particularly from the actors playing the teens, Elise Eberle and Sloane Morgan Siegel. The writing and direction also keep a seamlessness to the story so that the teen topics rooted more in reality don't seem shoehorned into a fantastical story about travel through parallel worlds. Having these positive qualities in a low-budget movie is obviously much better than having top-notch multi-million-dollar special effects budgets for a weak story and poor acting, and Portal Runner overachieves in this regard, and makes the best out of what it had to work with.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about YA fantasy sci-fi movies like Portal Runner. How is this similar to and different from other movies based on YA books?
Can a movie still be good despite having a low budget? What are some examples of good low-budget movies? Was the story and acting enough to overcome the low budget here?
Despite its fantasy-science fiction elements, how does the movie try to realistically convey what it was like to be a teenager in the late 1990s?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: December 10, 2021
- Cast: Elise Eberle, Sloane Morgan Siegel, Brian S. Lewis
- Director: Cornelia Duryee
- Studio: Kairos Productions
- Genre: Science Fiction
- Topics: High School, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 72 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: November 20, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
-
The Hunger Games
Intense adaptation is violent, thought-provoking for teens.
-
The Maze Runner
Dystopian tale offers high-stakes action, mystery for teens.
-
City of Ember
Fast-paced fantasy has lots of tense moments.
-
Divergent
Strong female character leads in violent dystopia.
For kids who love fantasy and science fiction
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate