There’s a scary thought that runs through your head when you are watching a movie like this – what happens awat fron the prying eyes of Mankind? What sort of things are being done when no one is watching? And finally, what dark magic is being worked in the name of science, no matter what the cost?
IN VITRO is the story of a relationship starting to come apart at the seams. On a remote a farm, a man and woman are struggling to maintain their conneciton as they try to establish an experiment business venture. The husband has created a way to reproduce calves at such a rate that within a short timeline a whole herd of cattle could replaced without the cost or loss of time to raise them. The wife hears a sound coming from one of the early tanks that were supposedly no longer being used, though the husband insists that it was nothing. What she discovers is that her husband has been working on something else, a new project he had never told her about, and it threatens not just her family, but everything she has ever known.
IN VITRO is a very well made sci-fi thriller, with big ideas, and a creepy undertone. The acting is very, very good, raising the tension and grounding things despite how far-out the story gets. The film rides the line between the science, and the thriller aspects, but with more of an emphasis on the thrills. The wide Australian vistas, and their isolation is brilliantly captured, and adds to the wife’s desperation as things spin out of control.
The film raises fascinating questions about morality and ethics, with a deliberate pace that leans into the domestic drama. The film’s power is curtailed because we are talking big, big science in the film, and there’s no real work put into explaining how any of this works. In most cases this wouldn’t be an issue but it’s strange to imagine someone that can do what the husband can, scientifically, being so far off the radar that no one is paying him any mind. It stretches believability.
The film also has several points that feel like natural endings, but things progress from there. The ending is satisfying, and feels earned, but the road there definitely takes its twists and turns.
This is a solid film, with some very chilling ideas. It’s well made, very well acted, and provides a very tense thriller. It feels as if there are some missed opportunities with the storytelling but it’s worth a look for fans seeking out a creepy sci-fi movie that feels as if it’s not too far from something that could be done today.
3.25 out of 5
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17081498/
In Vitro will be available on Digital Download from 15th September
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