Project X

I finally saw William Castle's PROJECT X the other night and I was surprised by the story-line. It reminded me a lot of JOHNNY MNEMONIC or THE MATRIX and the whole cyberpunk genre of films or books. PROJECT X is seriously outdated because of the FX and the boring and cheap production values, which makes this movie look like a standard 1960s TV movie. But the story itself screams William Gibson: it's about retrieving some memory from a spy (played by Christopher George) who's suffering from amnesia and who might have the information about Asia's attempt to destroy the West. The amnesia was artificially induced in the spy by someone in order to prevent the information from reaching the authorities in the West. When the film starts, the spy is incased in some coffin-like chamber and he's in suspended animation. Scientists revive the spy and try to get that memory from his amnesiac mind with a holographic device that can see inside the man's mind when he's sleeping. The scientists also recreate a 'virtual reality" setting that looks like something from the 1960s where the scientists hope the spy will be duped and eventually hand them the missing memory (the spy knows a lot about history, which is the explanation for the elaborate set-up. It's also cheaper this way. No expensive futuristic sets. LOL!). Of course, someone tries to botch the scientists attempt to save the world. The story is filled with details like biowarfare, overpopulation, infertility, etc. The identity of the spy is repeatedly changed by the scientists, who keep referring to these new virtual personalities of his as a MATRIX!

JOHNNY MNEMONIC is basically an unofficial remake of PROJECT X. In JOHNNY MNEMONIC, the whole world is suffering from some sort of condition called Nerve Attenuation Syndrome. Keanu Reeves has information implanted in his brain (which has a chip) that could cure NAS. Keanu got this implanted info in Beijing and he only has 24 hours to bring the vital info to the scientists in the US. William Gibson basically reworked the ideas found in PROJECT X and updated them for JOHNNY MNEMONIC. For instance, In JOHNNY MNEMONIC, the world is already suffering from something and the cure is from Asia. In PROJECT X, the threat is from Asia and it's some sort of virus/biochemical/nerve weapon. And the action in both stories are governed by some sort of limited timeline.

While watching the film, I had a vivid sense of deja vu. The whole idea of advanced technology capable of controlling memories, and the "reality vs virtual reality" aspect seen in PROJECT X are the basic ingredients of the whole cyberpunk genre. PROJECT X was very familiar and yet, thanks to the look of the movie, very outdated too. As a movie, PROJECT X is not that good but it's interesting to see where the whole idea of memory manipulation started from.

I taped this film off of a cable TV broadcast, apparently a rare occurrence. The film doesn't seem to get any air time at all, and as far as I know it is not available commercially on VHS or DVD. As much as one would want to corroborate other people's opinions of less-well-known films, I cannot recommend William Castle's "Project X". I found the film wildly over-plotted and very much derivative of other, better films. Where it tries to present something different, I found it just confused. The acting is at its best moments routine, and occasionally goes way over the top. The special effects do not impress; the film eventually resorts to using animation and not very stylish animation at that. But give a gander to the cast and you'll see why. William Castle is most widely known as a showman and promoter. There isn't anything here like that, so the film has to stand on its own. It can't.

I actually have a videotape of "Project X" and that makes me one of the few people that has actually seen this movie in the last thirty years. The movie deals mostly with biological warfare, human genetic manipulation, and mind machine interfacing. It was prophetic in a way that it predicted that Genetic Engineering was a coming thing. Despite it's rather low budget look, Henry Jones as the head scientist gives this movie an aire of reality. The mystery is the meaning of the last message the amnesiac agent sent to the West, a doomsday message, and we are kept guessing to the end what that doomsday message means. A memorable moment is when Karen Summers meets our amnesiac agent and the friendly way she acts and picks him up is something I've often imagined might happen to me someday. No wonder the bad guy kept breaking into her room, he was the only other guy to see it. Another scene that is memorable is when the released anger thing, whatever it was, does whatever it did to the meanie bad guy. That's something I have never forgotten.

Well if you haven't seen this movie, you missed a classic and good luck trying to find it.

Project X (1968) was a mystery & a science fiction film. The premise is that in the year 2118, the world is very overcrowded and there are two main powers, the Oriental East, and the occidental West. A mysterious message from the main character says that the East is going to destroy the West in 14 days but then he loses his memory due to an anti-torture drug he has taken. The race is on using mind reading technology to try and find out what is going on, but someone is really working for the other side? Who to believe? What is the threat? The movie correctly predicts that genetic manipulation would soon be a real possibility. The ability to read minds with machinery, and the need to go thru an elaborate deception is explained in some detail, they do a good job setting it up, but it complex and hard to follow in one viewing. Henry Jones as the head scientist lends some believability to the situation, making keen observations, but whose side is he on? Greta Baldwin is a very friendly young woman from 2118 that makes me think that there is hope for the future if there are a lot of women like her then. Christopher George as our amnesic hero does a good job portraying a good man thrust into an immoral situation. All in all it was a better than average Sci Fi movie for it's day, with many thought provoking ideas embedded in it. Incidentally I know how this movie can be seen in 1999.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Project X; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.75 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.50 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 7.25 out of 10.00

Project X surprised me by being a solid espionage thriller and whodunnit set in the future. The bad news is we humans never find a way to "just get along".

In 2118 the world leaders are still at one another's throats, and the threat of violence is high. Special Agent Hagen Arnold has been dispatched to the East to uncover the latest threat to the West. Regrettably, on his return, he is injured in an aircraft accident and is placed in cryogenic sleep by his superiors. His last hurried message implored that "within fourteen days the West would be destroyed". The scientists running the cryo-centre, by necessity and under the order of the intelligence service, inject all frozen agents with a serum that eradicates the patient's memories. But now, it's imperative to retrieve Arnold's recollections to save the West. Enter Project X. A multisystem to rebuild the patient's matrix and force their minds to remember. It's this method that adds potency to the narrative. The writers don't just have the guy hooked up to a computer that can read his brain waves. No. To retrieve the memories, they create an alternate persona (matrix): this has to be something personal to the patient. In this case, it's a crime that happened in the 1960s. An era that Arnold had been obsessed with and was studying. For the experiment to work, everything has to be genuine to the period. Using this complex procedure allows for more interest and suspense. It's a clever idea, and I loved it - so much so I may have to look for the Leslie P Davis novels. One of the best things in the story is the characters. Though they are slightly stereotyped, they work brilliantly to drive the story forward. I particularly enjoyed the twist in the reveal.

Project X is your typically filmed sci-fi flick. It's colourful and bright, and, as such, it was a pleasure to watch. The one thing that raised a smile to my lips was the elevator doors. Yeah, I know that sounds strange; but I love Star Trek The Original Series, and these doors P-Swoosh open with exactly the same sound - so that was a happy Sunday Afternoon bonus. William Castle isn't too bad a director, but this picture has the feel of a Sci-Fi series. While I enjoyed the unfolding story, I couldn't help but remember The Time Tunnel, Lost In Space, Land Of The Giants, and the like. And the segments set in the fake 1960s had the atmosphere of The Fugitive. All of these are great TV shows, and it was a delight to have those reminiscences - they added a nostalgic atmosphere to the movie. Another bonus was the animated and camera effects used to demonstrate the recalled memories. When I saw that Hanna Barbera was employed to complete some segments, I wondered if The Hair Bear Bunch or Scooby Doo would make a cameo appearance. Luckily they don't, but the artists are used to render some of the memories. And these effects work well to add a strange futuristic look to the memory screen, which has a naturalistic though artistic impression when idol.

The cast is composed of familiar television and movie actors. Though none were massive stars, they were all popular, and you should recognise many. As with the aforementioned TV Shows, the cast works splendidly together, and none tries to outshine any of the others. Because most of them have to portray a couple of characters, themselves in the present, and the factual individuals of the 1960s it allows them to spread their acting wings a little more, making the film more enthralling and enjoyable.

If you are looking for a movie to pass an afternoon, you could do worse than Project X. If you're like me and remember and enjoyed the TV Shows I mentioned, then you'll relish this Sci-Fi Spy flick, as I did - and may do again.

Now, while the scientists concoct an antidote, come on over and check out my The Final Frontier list to see where I ranked Project X.

Take Care & Stay Well.