Title: Progeny

Year: 1998

Director: Brian Yuzna

Reviewed By: Nicola Daine

As psychologist Susan LaMarche knows, when a man claims to have maintained an erection for over two hours without the aid of Viagra, something must be amiss! When confronted with the possibility that Dr.Craig Burton, an ER doctor, has achieved this whilst making love with his wife, Sherry, she believes it is a symptom of his psychological disturbance. Burke is convinced it is the result of something much darker � alien abduction of him and Sherry and the impregnation of his wife with an alien foetus. As her pregnancy becomes increasingly abnormal and disturbing, Sherry too is convinced there is something distinctly un-human about her growing child. Through the couple�s repeated hypnosis-induced flashbacks to �that night�, watchfully noted by LaMarche, the disturbing details are revealed. Aliens separated Sherry from her husband mid-coitus, took her to their spaceship, and implanted both a probe in her nose, and a foetus in her womb, before returning her to her husband 2 hours later.

However, LaMarche remains unconvinced by Dr.Burke�s paranormal explanations for their experiences, preferring to believe they are both insane. Seeking empathy and help from less conventional channels, Burke contacts Dr.Clavell, a sociologist specialising in UFO sightings and experiences. Clavell reveals video evidence of a Russian woman who suffered a similarly alarming pregnancy, and actually carried her �baby� to term, giving birth by caesarean section. Events take a turn for the worse when Sherry, increasingly unhinged, is discovered by LaMarche, suffering from hypothermia. Lying in a bath full of ice, she claims that the baby �likes the cold� and �told her to do it.� The psychologist admits Sherry to a psychiatric ward of the hospital where Burke works, after having him sign over powers of attorney to her. By now completely hell-bent on removing the growing alien from his wife�s body, Burke accompanied by Clavell and his camcorder kidnap Sherry and force a caesarean on her as she begs them not to kill her baby. This haphazard DIY surgery ends in tears when, in an attempt to coax out the alien baby by convincing it that it�s host mother is dead, Burke stops his wife�s heart and is unable to revive her in time to save her. The closing scenes show Burke locked up in an institution for the criminally insane, suffering terrible nightmares and the viewer is left doubting his state of mind, and the accuracy behind his claims of abduction.

The storyline is nothing new �from films like Rosemary�s Baby to TV series like The X Files this material has all been covered before. However, the way the story is delivered is refreshing. Perhaps it is the way that director Brian Yuzna leaves us in doubt at the end as to what exactly the truth is (let alone whether or not it is out there!), or perhaps it is the skilful use of flashback sequences during the hypnotherapy sessions. Either way, Progeny does seem to give a new angle to an old story. Yet there is something definitely lacking in this film � it has no energy, nor magic. This undoubtedly is partly due to Arnold Vosloo and Jillian McWhirter�s acting. As the alien impregnated Sherry, McWhirter never sets the screen alight, and Vosloo as estranged husband Craig only manages it in the last half hour. The script also seems weak, lacking Yuzna�s trademark black humour; without these respites from the action, the film seems to drag in parts. Progeny is disturbing, not because it is gory or visually horrific, but because of the continual assaults on Sherry�s body. It is particularly concerning in the places where Yuzna sexualises her experiences with the aliens. In one flashback sequence, we see Sherry tied to a bed, the aliens thrusting their probes into her, and touching her with their slimy tentacles. Sherry appears to be aroused by this at first, and begins to touch herself. This pleasure rapidly turns to fear and pain as she screams for them to stop and leave her alone. It is scenes like this that leave the viewer feeling truly disturbed, and sympathetic towards her.

Despite the weak script and weaker acting, there is a great deal of characteristic Yuzna in here. Like The Dentist series, Progeny deals with a demented doctor � a medical professional who in one way or another loses his mind, leading to the mutilation of innocent victims (usually women). This is another Yuznian theme: the �medical� interference with the female body. This trait is prevalent in Return of the Living Dead 3, The Dentist 2 and Bride of Reanimator in the form of the slicing and dicing of female characters, and in The Dentist in the sexual interference of one of the patients. In Progeny, the interference with Sherry�s body is relentless. Here, gynaecologists thrust their fingers and instruments intrusively into her vagina, aliens force their metal probes inside her, her husband cuts open her stomach and handles her internal organs, and from the beginning of her troubled pregnancy, her body is not her own. As appears to be Yuzna�s style, we are presented with a woman who does not have a voice. As the aliens� grip on her grows stronger, even her words are not her own � she increasingly speaks in a tone and volume reminiscent of her abductors. When LaMarche places her in psychiatric care and her husband signs over all control over her life to the psychologist, she is truly without a voice to prevent their interference. When she does attempt to speak out against their actions, she is injected with a strong tranquilizer, leaving her once again helpless and voiceless. As noted, this seems to be one of Yuzna�s characteristics; The Dentist contains the quite literally voiceless Brooke who is robbed of her right to speak for herself when Feinstone cuts out her tongue. She makes a re-appearance in the sequel, alongside the beautiful female lead, Jamie who too is voiceless in her own way. It is interesting to note that everything we learn about Jamie in this film comes from other characters about her, and very rarely from Jamie herself. Feinstone has made her up in his own mind and it is difficult to ascertain what is real and what is imagined, and the only other information comes from Feinstone�s friend at the bank.

Progeny also fits into the Yuzna tradition of films concerned with mental confusion, and psychosis. It shares with The Dentist 1 and 2 extensive use of disorientating camerawork that emphasises the peaks of insanity the characters suffer. To a degree, this film also looks at the darker side of life that exists behind the closed doors of middle-class suburban life, although perhaps to a lesser extent than a film like The Dentist. However, the madness, constant reliance on a psychiatrist, desperate need of an infertile couple to produce a baby, and eventual brutal murder by a man of his wife, all reveal the instability behind the façade of the solid clean-living bourgeoisie lives of Dr. and Mrs. Burke.

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