Chimera Strain

Chimera Strain by Maurice Haems could have been a great film- It looks amazing and the acting is sublime across the board. Henry Ian Cusick is so bloody good he deserves a nomination somewhere just to get noticed. However, there are some problems- for one the pacing is disjointed and off. Scenes seem rushed and many times a long take scene is immediately followed by a bunch of short ones, which dispenses the flow of the film. The script is good but there is way too much dialogue. Mr. Haems should know that the "show don't tell" rule also applies in a way that one should make the character do things to back their intentions and not just say it. That's for plays. All in all, this is a brave effort and I feel any science fiction lover should see this.

The only mystery & unrelated to storyline is what the DVD cover has to do with the story. It's probably the only sci-fi creepy part of this production. Cheap production of 90 min. in an abandoned industrial setting building w/mismatched high school bio science lab props to go along with a storyline based on high school biology stem cells and tissue repair along w/the equally ridiculous pop science connection to jellyfish repair, i.e. longevity. Another cheap was the constant droning of the background music which will make you turn the sound off. Poor script flow/editing made what ever semblance of a coherent story simply not happening. Acting was over-the-top Hollywood make believe scientists & associated characters.

I am just amazed to read the high rates for this film. Yes, I know there are many PR works on movies so that it looks "decent" on the database, but the reviews on this one have looked quite sincere. Yet, I have just watched the movie, and it is not a movie at all!

The plot is so weak, and the annoying children keep talking behind the shots, and there is not one single "rational" character in the movie! Seriously.

Reviews aside, I am really curious about how this movie got so many - probably insignificant - rewards. Okay, low-budget, okay first movie, but every possible thing about the movie is so cheesy.

Some good, some not so good, The good: acting, plot, sets, medical sci-fi aspects. The not-so-good: over stylized lighting, confusing plot. Still it was better than the avarage crappy indie movie that comes out of sundance or cannes.

Story is of a man who wants to treat his children's genetic diseases and follows how he tries to do it. Story line jumps all over the place. Very confusing to the viewer, especially at start. Acting was mediocre, sometimes a little poor, although the man was quite good. Editing was poor, poor composition of shots- sometimes very short shot lengths. Overall I did not really enjoy this movie, if your expectations are quite high I recommend you to avoid it