Progeny

Rating:
Summary: Good balance of story and special effects.
Review: Most sci-fi movies out there that are released straight to video are junk to put it nicely. I thought that this would be yet another no brainer, overly lavish special effects, what-were-they-thinking-when-they-made-this movie. WRONG ON ALL COUNTS. The movie uses the special effects to help tell the story (which in itself is quite thought provoking). The movie allows for a good plot and good visual effects to blend. The actors do a convincing job in their respective roles, and the whole premise of the movie draws the viewer in. I liked it.

Rating:
Summary: HORROR/SCIFI AT ITS BEST!!!THE VOSLOO FAN talks too much
Review: This is a great movie, even for those of us who are smart enough not to believe in little green men from Mars. How can you go wrong with this movie, especially if you are a Gordon/Yuzna fan. Great script, great director, great actors...you would be insane not to give it at least three stars.

Rating:
Summary: Better than it looks!
Review: This science fiction/horror movie didnt dissapoint me!its better than what the back tells you!i just bought the holographic cover video for this and was surprised,it has all this:creepy scenes,guts,blood,alien pregnancy,brad dourif(chuck the dolls voice),arnold vosloo,good acting and worth a buy!i reccomend this to science fiction and horror fans!

Rating:
Summary: Not usually my cup of tea but thought provoking
Review: Well, I got to watching this because I enjoyed the gentleman who plays the leading role in his most recent film The Mummy. I can't say I am usually into alien abduction films but this was worth watching as he is a very intellegent actor and it is facinating to watch how he portrayed how his character Craig Burton handles the whole pregnancy/alien thing. A friend who was watching it with me at the time pointed out something I hadn't even thought of. She, who had gone through an unwanted pregnancy herself, said she shared some of the feelings aired in the film and wondered if anyone had seen the film as a metaphorical treatment of what she and other women had been through.

Rating:
Summary: a colossal waste of time
Review: What the hell is wrong with all you people! this was the biggest waste of tape i have ever seen. not only did they cheat us out of plot, they cheated us on gore. Amazon is selling this giant turd of film for $103.99. Who would buy "Progeny," a retarded attempt at sci-fi...or is it horror....or is it a sappy romance with soap opera-like actors....whatever it is Brian Yuzna can shove it up his pootie tang. don't rent it and sure as hell don't buy it. i will now cry tears of sorrow for my two dollars...

Rating:
Summary: Weird
Review: What was this film?? It started out so good, and then about a third or half way through, everyone started flaking out. It's as if the director decided half way through "oh yeah, I'm making a horror film" and suddenly, all logic is thrown out the window. Arnold Vosloo plays husband to the main character (a great actress named Jillian Mcwhirter), and he goes from husbandly/fatherly concern for his pregnant wife, to manic obsessive/compulsive. The wife goes from relatively level headed, to possessed by aliens with supernatural powers (supposedly controlling her and the people around her using a nose implant). Huh? Is this supposed to be an alien invasion documentary or science fiction? Is it supposed to be thoughtful or a gore fest? Is there anything worse than a director who sits on the fence?

Serious flaws in this movie: dream sequences are meshed with actual scenes in such a way that you don't know which is which. Watching this movie is like being only semi-conscious... not a pleasant experience. Also confusing is the gratuitous gore. For instance, in one scene, Jillian is found by her husband, cowering in the closet with blood all over her and on the walls. Considering she's pregnant, and bleeding during pregnancy is a major red-flag, why is she next seen talking to a psychologist instead of sent to a hospital? And why doesn't anyone seem evenly remotely concerned about the blood (was that only a dream too?). The look on Arnold's face when he finds her is strange-- he looks only mildly upset, not horrified.

This movie is really sick. The horror comes less from the aliens (they are comically fake looking) than from the physical and psychological terror that the woman is going through as the alien, and then her husband, treats her like a womb without a will of her own, both ultimately out to kill her.

I was really surprised by Arnold Vosloo's erratic performance in this film: sometimes he is superb, other times, his performance is unconvincing. He is strangely passive for an ER doctor, not displaying any of the adrenaline rush that comes with being in control in the operating room. In one scene, he is supposed to be taking charge, and there is no energy, no realism to the scene. He's strangely passive, with a victim mentality (what's happening to me?) hanging over him the entire movie. This is particularly confusing when his wife is the one going through the most of the horror.

The medical details are often humorously glossed over, like when Dr. Craig Burton (Arnold) says "The alien is wrapped around her spinal cord, I'm going to cut it out..." He has about two minutes, with security pounding on the door...Ask your local neurosurgeon just how complicated that would be (even assuming he doesn't paralyze his patient). The Dr/husband in this film, instead of a scientist, is actually an alien fearing mystic who doesn't seem to have much of a grasp on scientific realities. He just goes off the deep end.

There are a couple of good things I can say about this film. One, the DVD version includes both the writers and directors voice over narration, along with interviews with the cast, (you get to find out which of the actors' actually believes in aliens, and who doesn't... interesting). Two, the camera affects are creative. Three, some of the acting performances are very good. Four, it's eerie, even if you don't believe in alien abductions. And five, Arnold Vosloo, looks his usual buffed and handsome self, and you get to see him naked.

One more thing... probably no surprise, but the ending stinks.

Rating:
Summary: Weird
Review: What was this film?? It started out so good, and then about a third or half way through, everyone started flaking out. It's as if the director decided half way through "oh yeah, I'm making a horror film" and suddenly, all logic is thrown out the window. Arnold Vosloo plays husband to the main character (a great actress named Jillian Mcwhirter), and he goes from husbandly/fatherly concern for his pregnant wife, to manic obsessive/compulsive. The wife goes from relatively level headed, to possessed by aliens with supernatural powers (supposedly controlling her and the people around her using a nose implant). Huh? Is this supposed to be an alien invasion documentary or science fiction? Is it supposed to be thoughtful or a gore fest? Is there anything worse than a director who sits on the fence?

Serious flaws in this movie: dream sequences are meshed with actual scenes in such a way that you don't know which is which. Watching this movie is like being only semi-conscious... not a pleasant experience. Also confusing is the gratuitous gore. For instance, in one scene, Jillian is found by her husband, cowering in the closet with blood all over her and on the walls. Considering she's pregnant, and bleeding during pregnancy is a major red-flag, why is she next seen talking to a psychologist instead of sent to a hospital? And why doesn't anyone seem evenly remotely concerned about the blood (was that only a dream too?). The look on Arnold's face when he finds her is strange-- he looks only mildly upset, not horrified.

This movie is really sick. The horror comes less from the aliens (they are comically fake looking) than from the physical and psychological terror that the woman is going through as the alien, and then her husband, treats her like a womb without a will of her own, both ultimately out to kill her.

I was really surprised by Arnold Vosloo's erratic performance in this film: sometimes he is superb, other times, his performance is unconvincing. He is strangely passive for an ER doctor, not displaying any of the adrenaline rush that comes with being in control in the operating room. In one scene, he is supposed to be taking charge, and there is no energy, no realism to the scene. He's strangely passive, with a victim mentality (what's happening to me?) hanging over him the entire movie. This is particularly confusing when his wife is the one going through the most of the horror.

The medical details are often humorously glossed over, like when Dr. Craig Burton (Arnold) says "The alien is wrapped around her spinal cord, I'm going to cut it out..." He has about two minutes, with security pounding on the door...Ask your local neurosurgeon just how complicated that would be (even assuming he doesn't paralyze his patient). The Dr/husband in this film, instead of a scientist, is actually an alien fearing mystic who doesn't seem to have much of a grasp on scientific realities. He just goes off the deep end.

There are a couple of good things I can say about this film. One, the DVD version includes both the writers and directors voice over narration, along with interviews with the cast, (you get to find out which of the actors' actually believes in aliens, and who doesn't... interesting). Two, the camera affects are creative. Three, some of the acting performances are very good. Four, it's eerie, even if you don't believe in alien abductions. And five, Arnold Vosloo, looks his usual buffed and handsome self, and you get to see him naked.

One more thing... probably no surprise, but the ending stinks.