Gene-X

Director/Writer: Martin Simpson
Cast: Ayse Tezel, Patrick Magee, Az Jackson
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year of Production: 2006
Country: Australia
Language: English

Possibly closer to science fact than science fiction, Gene-X tells the story of maverick research scientist Tom Gray’s discovery of the gene that will cure cancer. Convinced by the young nurse he is falling in love with that his breakthrough may be the last chance to save the life of a dying boy on her ward, Tom prematurely uses his material on the child with breathtaking success.

When the news reached the head of his Institute, rather than being reprimanded, Tom finds his discovery being taken over by a large pharmaceutical company. Too late, Tom is led by the theft of his research material to discover the flaw in his creation — a brain tumour that results in violent behaviour. His attempt to get the Gene-X of his creation back in the bottle is met with a cover-up that will cost him his job, and others, their lives.

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Puzzlehead

Director/Writer: James Bai
Cast: Stephen Galaida, Robbie Shapiro
Runtime: 81 minutes
Year of Production: 2005
Country: United States
Language: English

2006 AWARDS

“Puzzlehead” plays out in a bleak and barren future where people have become so scarce that the only permissible use of technology is for repopulation. Fudging this rule somewhat, a lonely scientist builds a robot companion, an exact likeness of himself down to the bouffant hairstyle and lovelorn memories (Stephen Galaida plays both roles). He calls his creation Puzzlehead and trains him to play chess, clean house and spy on Julia (Robbie Shapiro), the pale, jittery salesgirl whom the scientist has been secretly coveting.

Once Puzzlehead has glimpsed Julia, his vacuuming and dishwashing no longer hold the same appeal; and as man and machine compete for the same, increasingly bewildered woman, their struggle escalates until only one of them will be left standing. “Mining the Frankenstein myth and finding psychosexual gold, the movie creates a love triangle that seems to share a single disturbed personality” The New York Times.

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The Mind Snatcher
(AKA: The Demon Within, The Happiness Cage)

Director/Writer: Bernard Girard
Cast: Christopher Walken, Ronny Cox, Joss Ackland, Ralph Meeker
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year of Production: 1971
Country: United States
Language: English

A German scientist works on a way of quelling overly aggressive soldiers by developing implants that directly stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain. Christopher Walken (in his first feature film lead role) stars in this dark, psychological thriller as a G.I. sent to receive psychiatric help to cure his violent rage. When Walken is sent to a suspiciously half-empty hospital/country mansion he begins to unravel a mysterious project involving medical experiments on the human brain. And the closer he gets to the truth, the more horrific his discoveries become.

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