Project X

Following a couple of lame genre spoofs starring Sid Caesar, producer/director William Castle had hoped to return to his previous successful formula – albeit via a more sober approach – with the screen adaptation of Ira Levin's classic diabolical chiller ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968); however, the powers-that-be at Paramount only allowed him to produce, while placing acclaimed Polish auteur Roman Polanski – in what would prove his U.S. debut – at the helm. The resulting film was a veritable milestone of the genre – but, in compensation, Castle was given the movie under review to direct…after which, as it turned out, he lay down his boots in this capacity for six years running! Incidentally, 1968 also marked a great year for Science-Fiction cinema, under which banner – the former Horror master's first and last – PROJECT X falls, since it saw the release of both 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and PLANET OF THE APES which, needless to say, overshadowed Castle's effort…even if, for what it is worth, along with his subsequent bizarre venture SHANKS (1974), the director's last two pictures emerged as definitely his most original (thus interesting and considerable)!

Anyway, to be sure, the movie is a futuristic tale with ideas far above its' maker's usual station (only THE TINGLER {1959}'s analysis of Fear and HOMICIDAL {1961}'s probing into personality disorder, both dealt within the context of a shocker, had previously attempted anything of substance); indeed, here we have a secret agent struck by amnesia while in possession of the enemy's plan for world domination! While this can be seen on the one hand as the director's take on the current craze for James Bond imitations (thus resembling FANTASTIC VOYAGE {1966} in its mix of sci-fi and espionage), the plot also involves an elaborate scheme to induce a fictional, past and crime-oriented existence into the leading man's psyche in the hope that his subsequent paranoid feeling can unleash – via holograms depicting his unconscious state – the vital information needed to thwart the Orient's nefarious designs on the Western world! In this respect, it anticipates the likes of the two TOTAL RECALL (1990 and 2012) movies and THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998)…while also keeping in mind that the WWII thriller 36 HOURS (1964) had already used a similar ruse!

The film, then, is decidedly fascinating and relatively satisfying in the long run; that said, some elements – owing perhaps to its B-movie origins – do not work. For starters, Christopher George (who had been so striking as John Wayne's black-clad nemesis in Howard Hawks' EL DORADO {1967}) never really gains our sympathy as the perplexed hero (indeed, genial scientist Henry Jones emerges as the true protagonist)! Since the two narrative strands – real (that is, 22nd century) and fabricated (contemporary) – move in fits and starts, one has to constantly tweak his mind-set to the characters' within each particular setting; besides, their own adjustment to the 1960s lifestyle is too smooth despite professing obliviousness to what passed for the norm in that by-gone era – while the would-be technological advancement produces predictably streamlined sets (albeit featuring now-hilariously gargantuan computer systems imparting inevitably archaic feedback) and goofy costumes (notably transparent helmets for the men at the military base and skimpy outfits for the female factory-workers)!

An intriguing yet potentially exasperating notion was the use of solarization, aided by a bit of Hanna-Barbera animation for good measure (a' la FORBIDDEN PLANET {1956}), for the recreated images pertaining to the 'lost' mission – which also see Keye Luke as the 'yellow' mastermind and Monte Markham as a defector (eventually violently dispatched by George's telepathic skill much like the same year's THE POWER!). By the way, I had first acquired this via a washed-out VHS rip but, realizing it had been jointly released on DVD and BluRay by Olive Films, I managed to acquire a copy of this handsome-looking edition in time for my ongoing centenary tribute to Castle!

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.

Especially if, like me, you're a William Castle fan. Perhaps that's why this movie is rarely shown. The script here is rather convoluted as the story is basically a sci-fi mystery that slowly gets revealed.

Not much that happens makes sense. For instance, why is it necessary to convince the subject he's in the 1960s? While an unconvincing explanation is made, we all know it's to save money on sets. Also what purpose does Greta Baldwin serve? Besides an interlude of eye candy her character doesn't make much sense in the context of the movie.

The actors are mostly familiar faces, likely wondering how they got talked into this. While Chris George gets top billing he really doesn't have much to do except act disoriented and annoyed.

The FX are pretty standard for a 60s sci-fi B movie or TV. More or less on the level of the original Star Trek series of the same period.

While I haven't seen all of Castle's films, I'd have to place this one at the bottom of the one's I've seen. Overall I'd say skip this one and rewatch any other film from his "gimmick" period. They're all way more fun than this mess.

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 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.