Embryo

Dr. Paul Holliston is conducting an experiment with a dog embryo, and it is a success. He realises that his drug could help premature babies survive outside their mother's body and he uses his connections at a clinic to obtain a fetus from a mother who died in an accident. The fetus begins to grow at a breakneck speed and after a short time is a woman. As a side effect, equally manifested in the dogs, is a severely above average intelligence. Victoria, as Paul will call her, learns everything quickly and becomes highly educated in a number of fields in no time. The problem, however, is that her cells prove to be unstable, and as a result she is in danger of dying prematurely. Victoria is neither deranged nor a cold-blooded killer, she's just looking for a way to survive. This suspenseful film is idyllic for the most part, but somewhere in the background there is a growing unease and a sense that something is about to go wrong. The tension is ratcheted up in the last quarter, when Paul begins to realise with horror the full implications of his experiment. Solid stuff. The first half was a bit reminiscent of the 1970 classic The Wild Child, but here Paul had a much easier job... (13.09.2024)