Progeny

What do you get if you cross Rosemary's Baby with The X Files? 1998's Progeny, or something like it anyway. Surprisingly thoughtful, restrained and adept for a B movie, it's got a tightly wound little story about a human woman (Jillian McWhirter) who is impregnated by extraterrestrials that are tinkering around with our biology for who knows why. Her husband (Arnold 'Imhotep' Vosloo) is at a loss and doesn't know where to turn as her condition gets progressively more… icky. Help comes in the form of two kindly doctors (Lindsay Crouse and Wilford 'Diabeetus' Brimley) and a UFO-ologist played by an unusually laid back Brad Dourif, but will their collective effort be enough to save her life, remove whatever being is in her womb and escape the attention of the aliens for good? Browsing the shelves this looks like a full on schlock-fest based on the cast and general vibe, but it's something a bit more tasteful that takes itself just seriously enough to separate it from the mass of junk in this arena. Don't get me wrong, there's some slick scares and a few gooey wtf moments, but they're used with a modicum of discretion and as such feel earned, always taking a backseat to the actors who give the human drama weight. Great little forgotten sci-if/horror.

Rented the video with a lot of expectations, but it was a disappointment. The story didn't make sense, the plot was very weak and the special effects.. well, I think even I can do better with my home computer. Sorry. Missed a change here.

This movie will undoubtably not go over well with some, because most of the horror is mental. But it does have a little something for almost everyone, including a couple of really cool abduction scenes with aliens. The film makes extensive use of alien abduction mythology, while also showing a bit more intelligence about some facets of abduction myths than you would expect out of a movie. Jillian McWhirter is excellent in what had to have been a grueling performance.

i caught this movie on showtime one weekend afternoon, expecting a good ole b-grade gore-fest... boy, was i surprised... :OP this turned out to be one of the better horror movies i've seen in a long time, and i've seen my fair share... while there were a couple of scenes which were extremely gory, they were the exception, rather than the norm... i rather liked the way in which the entire film kept you really wondering if the good doctor was really crazy, as everyone else thought... one thing i didn't really like about the film was the very last scene, which i personally felt detracted from the film... i thought it would have been more effective if it had left the ending more open to interpretation, which it would have been had they not included the very last 30 seconds... but that was about my only substantial complaint about this film, which provided a good sense of suspense and dread, as well as keeping you guessing as to the whole "crazy vs sane" aspect of the story... the alien abduction sequences, in particular the last one involving the wife, were quite reminiscent of japanese hentai, specifically tentacles... just thought i'd mention that... quite disturbing...

overall, i'd give this an 8 out of 10, but be aware that it does not cater to a large audience...

It would be so easy to dismiss an alien abduction movie before even seeing it - as I did - but this is well worth a look. If you think about it, its not an easy subject matter to handle but this film manages to suspend disbelief which in itself is a feat for such a way out subject. Casting the main character as a doctor was a sensible move which lends credence to his willingness to believe in the possibility of alien abduction. Vosloo plays it very sensitively involving us in his pain and confusion at the weird events that befall himself and his wife. Special Effects are used sparingly but to shocking effect and at times the movie is totally gripping but sadly there are a couple of points where the plot wanders and leaves some confusion. Also, after building to a tense climax the ending is something of a let down. The supporting characters were unnecessarily weak (the alien hunter) or menacing (the psychiatrist) which also served to detract.

But all in all it raised some interesting issues amongst which was a telling line "How do think animals feel when we experiment on them".

The concept of "lost time" was also thought provoking.