Progeny (1998)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Brian Yuzna

Writers (WGA):

Stuart Gordon (story) and
Aubrey Solomon (story) ...

Release Date:

30 March 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

There Are Some Things In The Universe That We Can't Understand

Plot:

An unsuspecting woman is impregnated by aliens who are experimenting on the human population. |

Plot Keywords:

Male Rear Nudity | Female Full Frontal Nudity | Pregnancy | Alien Abduction | Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Arnold Vosloo	...	Dr. Craig Burton
Jillian McWhirter	...	Sherry Burton
Brad Dourif	...	Dr. Bert Clavell
Lindsay Crouse	...	Dr. Susan Lamarche
Wilford Brimley	...	Dr. David Wetherly
Willard E. Pugh	...	Eric Davidson
David Wells	...	Dr. Duke Kelly
Jan Hoag	...	Nurse Ida
Lydia De Luccia	...	Night Nurse
Don Calfa	...	Jimmy Stevens
Timilee Romolini	...	Devon Thompson
Nora Paradiso	...	Karen Boglia
Patty Toy	...	Nurse Jane
Susan Ripaldi	...	Nurse Della
John Moskal Jr.	...	Henry

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity and some horror violence/gore.

Runtime:

98 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:MA | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Progeny Films Inc.

Quotes:

[About his wife's abduction by aliens]
Dr. Craig Burton: Why would they do this?
Dr. Bert Clavell: I don't know. Who can know? What do you figure animals think about when we experiment on them?

Typical Yuzna stuff, with a slimy alien twist.

Progeny is about a husband and wife who experience time loss while making love. Completely unaware of what this bizarre experience means they try to go on with their lives. The hubby begins questioning the bizarre event and gets help through a very annoying psychiatrist. He comes to believe that aliens are responsible for this lapse in time and that the unborn baby he once thought was his and his wife's actually belongs to the aliens.

If ya ask me, this is a great scifi/horror story. Taking a highly questionable real-life scenario involving alien abduction and hybrid breeding is definite thumbs up from this guy. I love all things related to aliens and this story definitely delivered some good ideas. So if you also share an interest in things extraterrestrial, you should be pretty happy with Progeny. At least story-wise anyways.

Unfortunately the movie overall is pretty average. With average acting by all actors. Yep, even by the consistently awesome Mr. Dourif, who still does deliver the best performance. Though the black head doctor, delivers his lines really well. There are a few points in the flick where some of the delivery is cringe or laugh worthy, which is fine in my book. I like them cheesy and this had a little bit of some nice stinky cheese, and I mean that in a good way.

Anyways, with a less than stellar script you can't really blame all the actors. I especially didn't care for the Mother Hysteria the film went for. She wanted a baby so badly that she'd neglect and dismiss everything her loving husband (who's a doctor!!) said to her. It almost reached a point where you actually didn't care what happened to her.

The Progeny is another flick by Brian Yuzna from the icky-sticky film, Society. Again he delivers some slimy effects, and again he delivers a pretty unique tale of horror. If you're into scifi/horror or are a fan of Dourif and or Yuzna films, there's no real reason not to check out this flick if you get the chance. A generous 7 outta 10.