Progeny
Progeny
R | 30 March 1998 (USA)
Progeny Trailers

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

Reviews
The_Void

Rosemary's Baby meets Alien, Brian Yuzna style! Actually, this is a surprisingly restrained effort from the man behind such gory classics as Bride of Re-Animator and The Dentist, though we do still get some nasty styled gore. The film is rather well put together and the acting is not bad; the only real criticism I have of the film is that it's not very ambitious. The whole film revolves around the central plot point and despite being at least interesting throughout, it doesn't really go anywhere once it reaches its conclusion, which is a bit of a shame. The plot focuses on husband and wife Craig and Sherry Burton. They've been trying for a baby but not had much luck; although their luck changes one day when Sherry discovers that she has finally become pregnant. However, this happens shortly after a strange night where the couple, during sex, both had a blackout. As time moves on Craig increasingly begins to suspect that there's something wrong with the baby and begins to question what happened during the blackout.The film takes obvious influence from films such as Rosemary's Baby, although the plot is much shallower. There's plenty of ways that Brian Yuzna could have taken the story but it's never really developed beyond the immediate ideas. The immediate ideas are good however and the film features plenty of decent set pieces - most of which are reminiscent of what actual expecting couples would have to go through (e.g. an ultrasound scan). The central cast is good with Arnold Vosloo and Jillian McWhirter convincing as the central couple and receiving good support from Brad Dourif as a doctor. The film is not particularly gory but we do get some inventive alien effects courtesy of Screaming Mad George. The aliens themselves are not seen all that often but we do at least get a general idea. The film might have been better had it been a bit more expansive and not focused solely on the pregnancy; but even so the ending is decent enough (if a little muddled) and while this film is not great; it is at least worth a look for horror fans.

... View More
ElijahCSkuggs

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.

... View More
David Munch

<-----Minor Spoilers!----->A woman gets pregnant, but not by her husband. She develops 'something' inside her, or at least thats what her husband thinks. They go through a lot of hard times, while she is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. The husband contacts an UFO professor, and with his help they try to find out what is wrong with her.<-----Minor Spoilers!---->The story could have been a bit better, or at least be made less predictable, but the movie is catchy and it got me and my sister hooked through the entire movie without a problem. The acting is very good, and the filming is much better than normal, if you compare this to your normal b-alien movie. The effects are good, and something is happening every second of the movie. The characters are really likable, and apart from a stupid nurse in oné scene, they are all very convincing in their roles.I thought it was a good movie, and can recommend it, if you like alien/monster-abduction movies!7/10 - The story could have been a bit less predictable.

... View More
MrBark

First, let me review the movie. This movie creeps me out, and I don't even believe in aliens! However, the movie has its flaws.There are three acts to this movie. Act One is perfect. It sets up the movie, and really builds up the creep factor. I must say the score is great! Everything is set up and it's set up perfectly.Act Two begins when Jillian, playing Sherry Burton, goes to the shrink. They hypnotize her, and she recalls the abduction. Act Two ruins the film when the aliens show up. "Screaming Mad George" did the effects for the aliens. I must say they did a good job, except with their depiction of the "Gray" aliens. No offense, but the Grays looked like inflatable door prizes.On a side note, I liked how they treated hypnosis in Acts One and Two. If you paid attention, you would notice that the husband and wife had two different memories. In the husband's version of events, the blue light zaps them and his wife says, "Somebody's here," or something like it. It makes sense. The husband is concerned for his wife. "Someone" may hurt her. That's his issue. However in her version of events, she says, "Help me!" She does not say "Somebody's here." This also makes sense. The aliens are after her. Wanting her husband to help and save her is her issue. Now back to the film.Act Three turns the film into a gore fest. It begins with a "strange" ultrasound procedure. It's a typical gore fest, but it does have a surprise ending. I won't ruin it because it's actually an interesting development. The DVD and commentaries takes itself too seriously, but if you think Wilford Brimley saying "Horsesh**" is funny, you might want to check it out in the cast interviews section. Now on to my praise of Jillian McWhirter.I could only hope Jillian will read this. I had never seen her before, but wow, what a performance! Let me tell the rest of you this. First of all, this is supposed to be a serious film. The details I will now describe may sound campy and fun, like "Humanoids From The Deep" (1980), but it really isn't. Got that? Okay.Jillian is hot, naturally good-looking. She is naked for a lot of the film, a good thing. Unfortunately, she is usually being assaulted, terrorized, and raped, a very bad thing. However, she must act in a lot of this film naked. She gets points for overcoming that. She has to act happy, sad, horny, afraid, and physically hurt all in the span of a few moments. The turnaround of emotion is astounding! She has to cheer for joy when she learns she's pregnant. She has to scream in terror when the aliens take out her guts. She has to act very angry when her husband suggests that the baby isn't his. She has to act like she's in denial, saying nothing is wrong with her baby, when her husband says otherwise. A denial, I should note, that is really forced upon her by the aliens controlling her. I am talking Oscar-caliber performance here!Then there is the rape scene. It's disturbing, but since it's just some rubber alien, it's not too bad. In this scene, the alien is not a "Gray" alien, so I will describe it. The alien has tentacles, and it's kind of like a table. Jillian is on the table-like part, restrained by the tentacles. By her head is the alien's head. The alien's head is long, and it flips down so that its head is now above Jillian's legs. Then, the alien's hey-nanu-nanu comes out of his forehead. It's forehead! Sounds pretty campy, right? Well, Jillian plays it straight, and she pulls it off! She has to act like an alien with its hey-nanu-nanu coming from its forehead is raping her, and she pulls it off! It's a very intense scene, but that's not what makes it. You see, this scene is done in a flashback. What makes the scene is Jillian's performance recalling these events. She is just lying in a hospital bed under hypnosis recalling the alien abduction, but her acting here is more intense than the actual rape scene! How many actors can pull off a performance in a scene that describes a rape that is more intense than the scene with the rape? Not many! However, Jillian does it.I could go on and on. Jillian, if you ever read this, I want you to know that I, (name withheld) alias of MegamanX-1, believe you are the best actress ever. You are the best actress ever! I could only hope you read this and take it with you always.As for everyone else, "Progeny" (1999) is an Okay to Good film. I would recommend it.

... View More