Cyberon

I have been a fan of the independent British Doctor Who spin-off movies since 1995's Shakedown and CYBERON is quite possible the best yet. But what makes this different is that it features no cast members or characters from Doctor Who. Although it does feature the Cybermen, not mentioned by name, they are barely glimpsed and could be any alien race.

This is first and foremost good sci-fi drama. They don't try to stretch the budget unrealistically and so virtually all the limited f/x work is good quality and doesn't take over the story. What we have is a story of two doctors who work at a psychiatric hospital testing an experimental drug, which is believed to take human evolution to the next step but is in fact being used by aliens to gain control of the population. It may hardly be an original concept but it works. There are two principle characters who play off of each other well - one is an American actor (this also creates the feeling of higher production values) - played by Jo Castleton and PJ Ochlan, and they deserve full credit for making this one of the best films of 2001.

A smarmy American doctor pays a UK clinic to run trials of 'Cyberon', a pharmaceutically advanced smart drug on a ward of seemingly incurable cases. His outlandish claims initially appear justified as patients with severe mental and physical disorders show immediate improvement, but the hallucinatory side-effects of sinister silvery spectres soon take on malign, altogether apocalyptic dimensions! While Cyberon isn't greatly aided by its low budget and pedestrian CGI, the credible cast do their utmost to add verisimilitude to the implausible concept of a glowingly sentient serum that heals the lame, magically improves cerebration, and menacingly manifests despotic, pan-dimensional robo-boogeymen??? Like, take my money, dude!!!! Much like an especially astringent cough syrup, Cyberon's loony premise is a pretty hard swallow, but nevertheless, I found much of it to be a fun, bizarrely compelling yarn. Both over earnest and tantalisingly goofy, Cyberon would be ideal viewing as part of a lively Sci-schlock session, and Dr Who fans will most certainly appreciate the fact that the Cyberons closely resemble hydrocephalic Cybermen. Cyberon's frequent lapses into silliness merely heighten its affable B-Movie charms, and while visually uninspired, the actors commitment almost brings the prosaic text to life. A worthy curiosity, and should Cyberon be made available in a set of other similarly skewed DTV Sci-fi oddities, I'd happily snag a copy. In conclusion, maintaining a TV movie aesthetic throughout, Cyberon's appeal may seem limited, but avid sci-fi addicts and more actively tweaked Psychotronists should happily filter out the grot and enjoy the delicious pulp beneath!