Progeny

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.

... Brian? what the hell were you *on* when you signed to do this?

I saw this recently at a festival, and it was greeted by howling laughter throughout. By the time the credits rolled, tears were streaming down the faces of many of the audience.

The plot is a clunky melding of 'E.R.' and 'The X-Files'; as cynically aimed at the TV audience as is possible to get without being sued. The sequences involving the abductions are hilarious- both Yuzna's staging of the 'floating from the bed' and 'Screaming Mad George's pathetic plastic aliens drew gales of disbelieving, derisive laughter.

Limp, camp and stupid. My only hope is that it was an aberration- As awful as 'Return of the Living Dead 3' was good.

Steev

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.

One night, Dr. Craig Burton (Arnold Vosloo) has a strange experience while making love to his wife (Jillian McWhirter), including his losing two hours of time. Other odd occurrences continue, causing Craig to question his sanity. When his wife becomes pregnant, things really get weird.

With PROGENY, Director Brian Yuzna pours on the goo, highlighted by the utterly revolting birth sequence! This is "alien abduction", Yuzna-style, complete with loads of nudity, squirmy tentacles, and extra glop! He also tosses in some very icky probing, for good measure.

As extraterrestrial horror films go, this one isn't bad, though it's mostly about shock value, and exploiting the inherent fears of new parents.

Co-stars Wilford Brimley, and the always welcome, Brad Dourif as a doctor, and an alien investigator, respectively...

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.