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In Will Howarth and Tom McKeith‘s new film In Vitro, there are very real, and strange, consequences to bio-engineering. And our hero Layla discovers that the hard way on the cattle farm she runs with her husband, who has a few secrets of his own…

In the new film:

Layla lives on a remote cattle farm with her husband Jack, a biotech researcher who’s developed a new livestock breeding process. As their struggling farm and growing isolation strain their marriage, Layla begins to sense a disturbing presence lurking on the land.

In our exclusive clip from the film, Layla hears something strange in the kitchen…

Watch now:

Talia Zucker, Ashley Zuckerman, and Will Howarth star in the new film. Howarth, McKeith, and Zucker also penned the script.

In Vitro comes to select theaters, digital, and on demand on June 27, 2025.

Will Howarth and Tom McKeith's sci-fi thriller, In Vitro, is coming to theaters, Digital and On Demand on June 27th from Saban Films. We have your first look at the trailer for the Australian flick. Check it out down below. Layla lives on a remote cattle farm with her husband Jack, a biotech researcher who’s developed a new livestock breeding process. As their struggling farm and growing isolation strain their marriage, Layla begins to sense a disturbing presence lurking on the land. Howarth and McKeith directed a screenplay they wrote with one of their leads, Talia Zucker (Alice Palmer in the cult horror film Lake Mungo). Their Director's Statement follows. Our goal with In Vitro was to create a grounded sci-fi with...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

In Vitro immediately plunges the viewer into a chillingly familiar near-future, presenting a science fiction thriller framework that resonates with profound dramatic undercurrents and palpable atmospheric horror. We are introduced to Layla and Jack, a couple whose existence on a remote Australian cattle farm is anything but idyllic.

Their struggle is set against a stark backdrop: a climate crisis has decimated traditional agriculture, making natural resources perilously scarce. In this world, meat is largely a factory product, a synthetic echo of what was. The couple has staked their hopes and dwindling finances on pioneering cloning technology for cattle, a desperate bid to cater to a population still yearning for the “real thing.”

From its initial frames, the film masterfully cultivates a mood of pervasive foreboding. The vast, empty landscapes amplify their isolation, while a palpable bleakness seeps into their interactions. The tension in their marriage is an unspoken third presence,...

When we see them lying in bed, Jack (Ashley Zukerman) and Layla (co-writer Talia Zucker), there’s something about the way that he has his arm around her that seems just a little bit off. It’s as if, from his perspective, he’s holding not a person but a possession. It’s as if he’s afraid that if he doesn’t keep a tight grip, she’ll inevitably slip away.

Will Howarth and Tom McKeith’s indie thriller, which screened at the 2025 Glasgow Film Festival before going on to Fantaspoa, is full of little touches like this. He watches her oddly when she’s on the computer. He protests when, doing the dishes, she takes off her ring. It’s there in the tone of his voice, little things that he says – and yet she seems to be able to stand up for herself. They both have to be confident,...

Stars: Ashley Zuckerman, Talia Zucker, Will Howarth | Written by Will Howarth, Tom McKeith, Talia Zucker | Directed by Will Howarth, Tom McKeith

In Vitro opens with some quiet, but effective, world-building. Jack (Ashley Zuckerman) and Layla (Talia Zucker – also pulling double duty as co-writer), are a married couple of bovine farmers in a near future, but very recognisable world: a snippet of radio, tells us about the struggles of farming and agriculture, in the face of climate challenges. A newspaper cutting sees Jack, at the forefront of new breeding technology. The vistas of muted Australian farmlands, accompanied by a haunting, ethereal score imply the hardships of working the land. And then alarms start going off in the barn…

The farms difficulties are evident in the fraught relationship of Jack and Layla – their exchanges are hollow, distant – the long hours and the absence of their only son weighs heavy in their reluctant exchanges.

In Vitro Photo: courtesy of Strike Media

Every now and again one comes across a film which offers lots of interesting potential talking points but is reliant on a twist that makes a straightforward interview impossible. That’s very much the case with In Vitro, directed by Will Howarth and Tom McKeith, and co-written by Talia Zucker. Talia stars as Layla, opposite Ashley Zukerman as her husband Jack – a couple who live on an isolated farm in a future where food supplies are under threat and new methods of production are being explored. Will and Talia joined me in the run-up to the film’s screening at the Glasgow Film Festival and we did our best to work around the elephant in the room so that we could explore other aspects of the filmmaking process.

“Talia had the original idea for the film, this sci fi concept that focused around...

A chilling and atmospheric sci-fi thriller is set to make its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival on 27th February, with In Vitro promising to deliver a tense, slow-burning mystery against the backdrop of Australia’s vast and isolated farmland. Co-directed by Will Howarth and Tom McKeith, and featuring a script co-written by Lake Mungo star Talia Zucker, the film blends psychological horror with unsettling sci-fi elements, weaving a haunting tale of control, isolation, and the unseen consequences of scientific ambition.

Set in the near future, In Vitro follows Layla (Zucker) and her husband Jack (Ashley Zukerman), a struggling cattle breeder who has developed a groundbreaking method for improving livestock genetics. Their life on a remote farm, already strained by financial and emotional pressures, takes a sinister turn when a storm exposes the unforeseen consequences of Jack’s experiments. As unsettling events begin to unfold, Layla’s growing unease turns to full-blown paranoia,...

From directors Tom McKeith and Will Howarth (Beast), the Australian horror movie In Vitro is headed to the American Film Market, and Deadline shares a first look image today.

The Exchange has boarded world sales on the film, Deadline also notes. “The Exchange will introduce In Vitro to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market in Las Vegas.”

Here’s the plot synopsis for In Vitro: “In a future where ecological disasters have ravaged the agricultural industry, Layla and her husband Jack live in isolation on their struggling cattle farm. While Layla longs for her son who is away at boarding school, Jack experiments with biotechnology that he hopes will save his family from financial ruin. But as unsettling occurrences start to plague the property, their once loving relationship begins to unravel.”

Talia Zucker (Lake Mungo), Will Howarth (Beast) and Ashley Zukerman (Succession) star.

Deadline adds for context in today’s report,...

Exclusive: The Exchange has boarded world sales on Australian horror-thriller In Vitro, starring Talia Zucker (Lake Mungo), Will Howarth (Beast) and Ashley Zukerman (Succession).

Directed by Tom McKeith and Howarth, the film marks the follow-up after their debut feature Beast, which was nominated for Best First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.

After a world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival this summer, where it was the Audience Award Runner-Up, the movie is set for its North American premiere at the Austin Film Festival this week where it is nominated for the Dark Matters Jury Award. Pic was written by Howarth, McKeith, and Zucker. It is produced by Fictious.

The Exchange will introduce In Vitro to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market in Las Vegas. The sales deal was negotiated by Matt Hechinger on behalf of The Exchange and by Will Howarth on behalf of Fictious.

The...

"What do you think would happen if people found out about it?" Madman Films in Australia has revealed a first look official trailer for an indie sci-fi thriller titled In Vitro, made by the two filmmakers Will Howarth & Tom McKeith. On a struggling cattle farm set some years in the future, a woman discovers the unsettling consequences of her husband's animal breeding technology. This is a sneaky lo-fi sci-fi film. It's premiering at the 2024 Melbourne Film Festival (Miff) after initially debuting at the Sydney Film Festival. "Unnatural selection." One night, everything changes when a storm knocks out the power and they soon discover that something unknown has has been released onto the farm. But as Layla discovers more about the mysterious presence and Jack’s behaviour becomes increasingly controlling, Layla finally uncovers a secret that brings her face to face with the reality of her relationship with Jack and life on the ranch.

The 71st edition of Australia’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff) closed on Sunday June 16 amid a wave of optimisim with a wealth of prizes, a likely rise in ticket sales, and an influx of young cinemagoers.

Ticket sales were estimated to be more than 10% up on last year, making 2024 the second biggest year on record after 2019.

“It’s been quite phenomenal and we feel very optimistic about the future,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. “We can’t tell with precision, but judging by which films sold, the younger demographic is increasing.”

Paola Cortellesi’s post-Second World War Italian melodrama There’s Still Tomorrow,...

Two new Australian films, both enjoying their world premiere, are among the first titles confirmed to play at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

“In Vitro,” a sci-fi mystery thriller set on a remote cattle farm in the near future, hails from directors Will Howarth and Tom McKeith (“Beast”) and stars Ashley Zukerman (“Succession”).

With “The Pool,” director Ian Darling (“The Final Quarter”) paints a cinematic portrait of a year in the life of the iconic Bondi Icebergs, the pool and the people who cherish it.

They will be joined by New Zealand actor Rachel House (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”), who makes her feature directorial debut with “The Mountain,” which centers on three children discovering friendship’s healing power through the spirit of adventure as they trek through spectacular New Zealand landscapes. It is executive produced by Taika Waititi and will be eligible for Sydney’s recently announced First Nations Award,...

Odin’s Eye Entertainment has boarded “In Vitro,” an elevated sci-fi thriller starring Ashley Zukerman (“Succession” ) and Talia Zucker (“Lake Mungo”).

Pic is co-directed by Tom McKeith and Will Howarth, whose debut feature, “Beast,” was nominated for best first feature at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015. Odin’s Eye will introduce the new film to buyers for the first time during the Cannes Market.

The narrative of “In Vitro” is set on a remote cattle property in the near future, where a woman (Zucker) and her husband (Zukerman) have been experimenting with biotechnology and developing illegal breeding methods. It’s a mostly isolated existence for the couple, but when a series of unsettling occurrences take place, the woman is faced with the disturbing reality of just how far her husband will go for love. McKeith and Howarth co-wrote the script with Zucker.

“In Vitro” is produced by Arcadia and Fictious. Arcadia...

Exclusive: Succession and The Lost Symbol actor Ashley Zukerman leads the sci-fi thriller feature In Vitro, which has just wrapped filming in regional New South Wales, Australia.

In the lead opposite Zukerman is Talia Zucker (Lake Mungo) alongside Will Howarth (Beast).

Set on a remote cattle property in the near future, the film follows Layla (Zucker) and her husband Jack (Zukerman), who have been experimenting with biotechnology and developing new farming methods. It’s a mostly isolated existence for the couple, but when a series of unsettling occurrences take place, they soon discover a disturbing presence on the farm that threatens to upend their lives.

In Vitro marks writer-directors Tom McKeith and Will Howarth’s follow-up to their debut feature Beast, which was nominated for Best First Feature at TIFF 2015. They co-wrote the script with Zucker.

Producers are Arcadia, the Australian production and distribution company behind Kodi Smit-McPhee sci-fi starrer 2067 and horror comedy Sissy,...

(l-r) James Mackay, Sarah Snook and Jocelyn Moorhouse on the set of 'The Dressmaker' (photo credit: Ben King).

Screen Australia has announced development funding for seven feature films and one high-end television project, plus production funding for three digital series and one Vr project..

Among the slate of features is The Wedding Officer, a WWII drama adapted by Andrew Knight (Hacksaw Ridge, Jack Irish) from a novel by Anthony Capella.

Jocelyn Moorhouse (The Dressmaker) is attached to direct with Revlover Films' Martha Coleman producing. The feature has secured matched funding from eOne, who produced Knight's The Water Diviner.

The film revolves around a young British officer sent to allied occupied Naples to clean up corruption and curb the run of British soldiers marrying Neapolitan girls. The locals decide to corrupt him the best way they know how: with food. .

Other films include Relic, a Gender Matters: Brilliant Stories...

Non-professional actor and boxer Chad McKinney, the star of Beast.

Brothers Sam and Tom McKeith graduated from Aftrs in 2010. Since then their shorts have played at the likes of Berlin, Telluride and Busan.

Both still work part-time, Sam for The Huffington Post and Tom for Legal Aid.

The pair have just made their feature debut with.Beast, which premiered in Toronto last year and screened at the Sydney Film Festival last month.

Beast is set in the Philippines and follows a local boxer, played by real-life boxer Chad McKinney.

The brothers began developing the script three years ago with Will Jaymes, an La-based Australian actor who co-wrote and co-produced and has a small role in the film as a local heavy.

The script went through Screen Nsw's Aurora program and took a year and a half to write. The decision to set it in South-East Asia was an organic one,...

Talia Zucker and Will Jaymes

Three young Australian writers have had their project selected for the 2016 January Screenwriters Lab, a five-day writers' workshop at the Sundance Resort in Utah beginning January 15.

Written by Talia Zucker, Will Jaymes and Tom McKeith, In Vitro is described by Jaymes as "a psychological sci-fi thriller set in a very real world - not set in the future. Our story is about a young woman who is kept in isolation on a cattle ranch in northern America and slowly comes to realise the truth about her existence".

Jaymes and McKeith co-wrote Beast, the Manila-set boxing drama which premiered in Toronto last year. Jaymes also acted in it, playing the film's heavy..

Zucker and James are both based in Los Angeles, where they moved a few years ago after each was nominated for the Heath Ledger Scholarship. Zucker has appeared in the likes of Lake Mungo and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

The Sundance Institute is including a touch of Cannes this week as the likes of Pippa Bianco (her short Share was the 2015 winner of Cannes Cinefondation), Alistair Banks Griffin (Two Gates of Sleep premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in 2010), and the Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza tandem (from Critics’ Week Grand Prize in 2013 for Salvo) are among the dozen selected projects for the 2016 January Screenwriters Lab. The immersive, five-day writers’ workshop takes place just prior to the festival at the Sundance Resort in Utah, January 15-20. Look for several of these projects to one day break into not only Sundance, but other major film fests. Here are the selected people & projects:

The projects and fellows selected for the 2016 January Screenwriters Lab are:

Bull (U.S.A.) / Annie Silverstein (Co-writer/Director) and Johnny McAllister (Co-writer)

In a near-abandoned subdivision west of Houston, a wayward teen runs headlong into her equally willful and unforgiving neighbor,...

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced yet another round of lineups for its 40th anniversary edition (September 10 through 20): "The diverse Discovery lineup includes Desde Allá, an intense social drama from Venezuelan newcomer Lorenzo Vigas; Tom McKeith and Sam McKeith’s Manila-set thriller Beast; German filmmaker Sebastian Ko’s riveting suspense We Monsters; Michael Lennox’s A Patch of Fog which chronicles a British anti-bromance; Very Big Shot, the debut from Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, delving into a darkly comedic world of coke smuggling in Lebanon; Maris Curran’s intimate drama Five Nights in Maine; Irish director Simon Fitzmaurice’s feature debut, the coming-of-age story My Name is Emily; and Mexico’s Alejandra Márquez Abellas’s debut, the poignant drama Semana Santa." Plus: Tiff Kids. » - David Hudson...

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced yet another round of lineups for its 40th anniversary edition (September 10 through 20): "The diverse Discovery lineup includes Desde Allá, an intense social drama from Venezuelan newcomer Lorenzo Vigas; Tom McKeith and Sam McKeith’s Manila-set thriller Beast; German filmmaker Sebastian Ko’s riveting suspense We Monsters; Michael Lennox’s A Patch of Fog which chronicles a British anti-bromance; Very Big Shot, the debut from Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, delving into a darkly comedic world of coke smuggling in Lebanon; Maris Curran’s intimate drama Five Nights in Maine; Irish director Simon Fitzmaurice’s feature debut, the coming-of-age story My Name is Emily; and Mexico’s Alejandra Márquez Abellas’s debut, the poignant drama Semana Santa." Plus: Tiff Kids. » - David Hudson...

With about two weeks left until the ’15 edition kicks off, the festival heads at Tiff have made the final announcements to their upcoming edition with the unveiling of the Discovery programme. With thirty offerings from several first time filmmakers, the section is populated by items that have preemed elsewhere in the awards tipped, Sundance sensation James White from Josh Mond, to the Cannes debuted Les Cowboys from scribe and now director Thomas Bidegain, to the world premiere of Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine starring David Oyelowo, Dianne Wiest and Rosie Perez. Here are the offerings:

Discovery

“The Ardennes” Robin Pront, Belgium

“Beast” Tom McKeith, Sam McKeith, Australia/Philippines

“Black” Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Belgium

“Born to Dance” Tammy Davis, New Zealand

“Dégradé” Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser, Palestine/France/Qatar

“Desde Allá” Lorenzo Vigas, Venezuela

“Downriver” Grant Scicluna, Australia

“Eva Nová” Marko Škop, Slovakia

“Five Nights in Maine” Maris Curran,...

Films set to show at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), updated as announcements are made in the run up to the event.

Tiff will open on September 10 with Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts.

Tiff 40

Key: Wp = world premiere; Nap = North American premiere; IP = international premiere; Cp = Canadian premiere.

GALASBeeba Boys (Canada), Deepa Mehta, WPDemolition, Jean-Marc Vallée WPDisorder (Maryland) (France-Belgium), Alice Winocour NAPThe Dressmaker (Aus), Jocelyn Moorhouse, WPEye In The Sky (UK), Gavin Hood WPForsaken (Canada), Jon Cassar, WPFreeheld (Us), Peter Sollett, WPHyena Road (Canada), Paul Gross, WPLolo (France), Julie Delpy, NAPLegend (UK), Brian Helgeland, IPMan Down (Us), Dito Montiel NAPThe Man Who Knew Infinity (UK), Matt Brown, WPThe Martian (Us), Ridley Scott, WPMiss You Already (UK), Catherine Hardwicke WPMississippi Grind (Us), Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden CPMr. Right (Us), Paco Cabezas WPThe Program (UK), Stephen Frears, WPRemember (Canada), Atom Egoyan, NAPSeptembers Of Shiraz (Us), Wayne Blair, WPStonewall ([link...

Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 10-20) has completed its line-up with the Discovery, New Wave Tiff Kids and In Conversation With… strands and has confirmed the return of Festival Street.

Oscar-winner Julianne Moore, Salma Hayek, Sarah Silverman and Matthew Weiner will take place in separate on-stage conversations as part of the In Conversation With… series, which replaces the Mavericks programme.

For the second year, the Festival Street initiative will see the closure of King Street West between Peter and University Streets, from Sept 10-13.

Events will include Questival, a walking interactive quiz designed by Frontier Design & Innovation; the NewCanadianMusic.ca music stage featuring the world premiere of Titicut Follies – The Ballet inspired by Frederick Wiseman’s 1967 documentary; cinema-inspired installations; magicians; the Slaight Family Zone; and food trucks.

In total, the festival will screen 399 films, of which 289 are features and 110 shorts. Last year’s festival screened 392 in total comprising 284 features and 108 shorts.

Programmers sifted...

Screen Australia has selected five teams to take part in this year's Springboard: Short Film Initiative and potentially receive $150,000 production funding.

The five directors - Christopher Weekes, Hannah Moon, Tom McKeith, Darlene Johnson and Liselle Mei - and their teams will now develop a short film script that will showcase their developed feature film screenplay. Three of the shorts will then receive $150,000 funding.

Weekes is perhaps the best known after making his debut feature Bitter & Twisted in 2008, which he followed by topping the influential Black List (which ranks Hollywood film executives. views on the best unproduced movie scripts) in 2009 with The Muppet Man. His Springboard feature project Pest Control is a family comedy about a city that gets overrun by monsters.

Hannah Moon's project Starfish, is a comedy, which she is co-writing with Robin Geradts-Gill and Stephen Sholl. Tom McKeith.s project Boxer is a thriller and is currently...

Australian film-maker Jan Sharp was honoured at the Telluride Film Festival. The festival was dedicated to both Sharp and Us producer Bingham Ray. Sharp’s film credits include Wide Sargasso Sea and Echoes of Paradise.

Accompanying The Sapphires and documentary On Borrowed Time by David Bradbury about film-maker Paul Cox and his life on a liver transplant waiting list were short films Rain by Tom and Sam McKeith, Barn Owl by Anna Spencer and Boo! by Rupert Reid.

The announcement:

Colorado’s Telluride Film Festival ending today was dedicated to the late Australian writer/producer/director Jan Sharp, as well as to the late Us producer Bingham Ray.

Jan’s long career began at Film Australia and included credits Wild Sargasso Sea and The Good Wife.

Bingham was a co-founder of October Films, a leading independent distribution company of the 1990s, and a former president of United Artists.

Australian films...

An Australian short film has been selected for the 39th Telluride Film Festival.

Directed by Aap journalist Sam and brother Tom McKeith, Rain is set in Western Sydney and follows a pregnant teenager seeking shelter from a storm.

Rain will be shown within the festival’s Film-makers of Tomorrow program.

The film was self-funded and made with the support of MetroScreen.

Joining Rain is Hopscotch/eOne distributed-feature film, The Sapphires, which has just become the highest grossing local film in 2012.

The McKeith’s first short film Pig was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011 and has since screened in more than 20 film festivals.

Tom said: “”I was blown away when I got the news that Rain has been selected for Telluride this year. It’s a very simple story that was made with a lot of passion and heart, and I’m just so happy it’s resonated with the festival organizers.