Isolation - La Fattoria del Terrore

In a time when remakes, sequels and sequels to remakes are just about all the horror genre is getting, it's refreshing to a see a film that isn't merely a copy of another. This film isn't completely original, however, as it has shades of classics such as Alien and The Thing, but the base of the plot is compelling and the way that director Billy O'Brien patiently builds up the atmosphere and tension is impressive. The plot obviously takes influence from the agricultural crisis's we've had in Britain over the last few years; namely foot and mouth, in which the desire not to have people coming and going from various farms was strong. The film starts with a cow giving birth. There's obviously a problem from the outset, and it increases when the cow is born. The calf is somehow not right, and the farmers take the decision to kill it. Upon dissecting the dead calf, it turns out that there's a parasite growing inside of it, and we soon learn that this is the result of an experiment carried out with the farmer's say so by an immoral vet...

The film is slow to start, and the first half is really just build up. However, the build up isn't boring and the director generates suspense by never really letting us know what is going on until it is really needed. The second half the film is entirely different to the first as then we focus more on action and gore, and this actually goes well with the beginning of the movie. There aren't many characters in the film, and that means that there aren't a lot of death scenes; but this isn't too important as the central monster looks cool enough, and the death scenes are suitably nasty, even though they're not very gory. The locations the atmosphere is a big stand out, and the director does a good job of ensuring the farm location is integral to the plot and good use of the dirty and eerie locations is used at all times. The film is a long way away from being perfect; the camera-work annoyed me somewhat as Billy O'Brien obviously subscribes to the flashy camera-work school of thought, and sometimes you can't see what's going on. However, this is a well made and well acted little horror film that deserves more plaudits for the fact that it's not a direct rip off. Very well done!

Although the significance behind the title is only superficially explored - whether it be from too much 'isolation' from cosmpolitan city life, from interpersonal emotional relationships, from wholesome medical meddling, etc... this tightly told story of science run amok at a backwoods Irish farm becomes frightening due to keen usage of natural elements combined with a focus on natural visual/special effects - no CGI! Although the characters are unremarkable, the unrelenting tension gets its strength from the filmmaker's refusal to ever leave the premises. In addition, the overcast skies and the interiors' infrastructures allow the director many opportunities to increase the audience's fear of when and how the creature will affect the proceedings. Though the audience never witnesses the full poteniality of its metamorphosis (although the budget was almost $9.5 million, they may have run out before unleashing a complete masterpiece) the glimpses of how science's ambitions can run amok are horrifyingly conveyed. Essie Davis is gorgeous, but did not create a 'Jamie Lee Curtis' in "Halloween." Definitely recommended.

After watching the goddawful Shrooms, I googled 'Irish horror films' to see if anything worthwhile horror-wise had actually come out of the 'Emerald Isle' in recent years; Isolation was a title that repeatedly came up, so I thought I'd give it a go. However, whilst nowhere near as bad as the aforementioned Shrooms (but then again, not much is), Isolation isn't a film I'd recommend, being rather too slow paced (I know, I know... this is to build suspense and develop characters, but it's also boring), riddled with plot holes, and ultimately coming off as a low rent Alien rip-off, albeit one set on a farm.

John Lynch plays Dan, a cattle farmer who regrets allowing a scientist to experiment on one of his cows after it gives birth to a vicious calf, which in turn spawns a rapidly mutating 'inside-out' monster foetus that proceeds to attack anyone unlucky enough to cross its path. Admittedly, this sounds like a lot of fun—kinda like Black Sheep with udders—but it isn't: it's plodding, not particularly scary (there's a couple of effective 'jumps', but not a lot in the way of genuine terror), and way too derivative: this really is nothing more than your standard monster on the loose story, given a rural twist.

Occasionally, there are glimmers of inspiration, such as a few nasty deaths utilising a nasty piece of farmyard equipment used to kill animals, and there is also a touch of reasonable gore, but with a badly conceived monster (that looked like a cross between a crispy wonton and a chitinous prawn to me), this film doesn't go a long way to convince me that Irish horror movies are gonna have much of an impact on the genre.

Still, if I can find a copy, I expect I'll give Dead Meat a chance (I love zombie films), and I might even check out the upcoming Freakdog, from Shrooms director Paddy Breathnach—after all, it's GOTTA be better than his last effort.

I have just seen this film and was really surprised by it's quality. I knew not of the Director but only of the Irish Film Board that helped in the project, up until today I had yet to be entertained fully by this board. This is no longer the case.

I can see that other people on the message board have slated this film with one going as far to say that this is stolen from Scott Sigler Ancestor. Sad as it seems but this said individual does not realise that Ancestor is also a rewrite of many DNA/Animal experiment stories. Dean Koontz watchers for a start or how about Peter Benchley's Creature.

With that upset out of the way this Film is a great piece of jump, tension and scare that's well worth your time. Expertly shot, Directed with passion and an effects Team that has used Animatronics instead of cheesy CGI which so many creature flicks these days fall foul of. Like the Thing and Alien this will become a cult hit. I was a very early supporter of the Thing and I turned out to be correct in my belief, I believe this to be true once more.

All in all this is nothing new but it's just what you've been looking for since the introduction of CGI monsters and the disappearance of blood soaked, repulsive, gooey textured monsters that look and feel real.

Excellent work.

The broken farmer Dan (John Lynch) rents his farm for the scientist John (Marcel Iures) from the Bovine Genetics Technology that is researching genetic modifications of cattle to increase its fertilization. The veterinarian Orla (Essie Davis) is bitten by the calf while helping the cow to deliver, and she feels that something went wrong with the experiment. During the night, the cow has a narrow passage for the calf, and Dan asks the young couple Jamie (Sean Harris) and Mary (Ruth Negga) that is parked in a trailer in front of his farm's entrance to help him in the delivery. When the offspring is born, it bites Dan; Orla arrives later and realizes that it is a genetic anomaly and she sacrifices the calf. During the autopsy of the animal, she discovers that the fetus is pregnant and she destroys the freak hybrids. However, one of them escapes and attacks a cow first and Jamie later. When John arrives in the farm, he discovers that there is the danger of infection of human beings and decides to quarantine the spot. But one offspring is alive and need to be captured.

"Isolation" is a creepy and gruesome version of Alien in an Irish farm. The cinematography is very dark like the story that is simple but works, and the locations are indeed repugnant. But the direction and the cast make the difference with excellent work highlighting the always excellent John Lynch. The special effects are great and the open conclusion gives a perfect ending to this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Quarentena" ("Quarantine")