Zygote

Short runtime brings about some plot contrivances, but, overall, this short is pretty good: the story is interesting and compelling, worth expanding, and I would love to see the two main characters more developed. The monster is just awesome: really well done and disgusting, as a monster should be. Hope Oats Studio makes features films some day.

Director Neill Blomkamp's experimental venture Oats Studios has produced shorts from a wide range of genres, including comedy, fantasy, and war, but primarily sci-fi, which often crosses over into the former three. "Zygote" is the first horror outing from the Oats team, and it is a strong case for a full-length horror feature from Blomkamp.

Zygote has definitely been my favorite narrative Oats short so far. With the previous shorts "Rakka" and "Firebase", a lot of the story was told through expository narration and flashbacks, which still worked because of how it built the world, but made them seem less like a traditional short. With Zygote however, the story felt much more natural, with much of the backstory and worldbuilding coming through dialogue and mise en scene.

In Zygote, Jose Pablo Cantillo and Dakota Fanning play the two remaining survivors of a mineral mining facility somewhere in the north. Genetic experimentation by one of the occupants has created an abomination made from parts of other living things. Cantillo and Fanning must make a last stand against the monstrosity to ensure the crew's sacrifice was not in vain.

The terror of this short is palpable, and showcases Neill's range as a director. Scenes of the wailing, undulating Zygote stalking down dark corridors are sure to stick with you. Jose Pablo Cantillo and Dakota Fanning were brilliant in their roles, clearly conveying the fear of being trapped inside with the monster, as well as the simultaneous courage to stand off with it.

If I had any criticisms, I would say that some of Jose's dialogue sounded a little fast or whispered, making it hard to hear, but it didn't detract from his overall performance. As for the Zygote itself, while the creature was terrifying, (maybe giving the Thing a run for its money!) I think it could have benefited from a wider range of vocal sounds, and was more scary when obscured by dark lighting, thus giving it a sense of mystery.

All in all, wonderful work from the Oats team! I'll be looking forward to Volume 2!

Running at just over 20 minutes, then "Zygote" was initially a movie that I would have passed on, as I am not keen on short films. But I read the synopsis for it and found it to be sounding like it might actually be worth the time and effort.

And let me be the first to say wow! "Zygote" turned out to be a rather entertaining and thrilling short film. I must admit that writers Thomas Sweterlitsch, Terri Tatchell and writer/director Neill Blomkamp had put together something quite good.

Sure, this was blatantly an imitation of "The Thing", but that hardly mattered, because "Zygote" in your face from the very beginning. There wasn't any tallying about.

And with a cast that included just two people, Jose Pablo Cantillo and Dakota Fanning, then there was a certain amount of pressure riding on the two performers. It should be said that they did perform quite well and carried the movie phenomenally. It was a rather nice surprise to see Dakota Fanning in a movie such as this.

The creature was rather interesting and it definitely came off as being realistic given the impressive CGI used. So thumbs up for the CGI and special effects department on their accomplishment here.

It would be great to see "Zygote" as a full length feature film, although I can't really see what it would bring to the genre that hasn't already been done and seen in movies such as "The Thing". But still, with the entertainment level that they managed to pull off with just 20 minutes, then it would be fun to watch a full length movie with this stuff.

"Zygote" is definitely well worth the time and effort if you enjoyed "The Thing". I am rating "Zygote" 7 out of 10 stars.

It is obvious just from watching Neill Blomkamp's short video stories that he is a much more visionary and skillful director than Ridley Scott now (Scott was as visionary back in the 1980s but time has moved on and Ridley has not adjusted well). This short film in particular is a wonderful work of art, sci-f and thrilling action. There is basically only one downside - it's too short. Judging solely from the art he did for his supposed Alien 5 project, it would have been or could be the best Alien sequel since Aliens. I hope some big shot in the production companies will give Neill a few hundred million to make the best Alien sequel and use all of his imagination displayed in this and several other short films to do a sci fi masterpiece, in the vein of this mind-blowing work of art.

Once again, we have the arctic, cold and claustrophobic, and two people who are miners, the last left of a huge work crew, trying to survive while an amorphous creature tries to kill them. The one guy, the boss, is blind, and the other is a woman who doesn't fit the usual protocols on this encampment. It's one bloody scene of dismemberment and slaughter after another. Never cared for this, but I am granting it a good rating on technical grounds and intensity. I wish I knew a little more about what they were up to.