The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler

THE RESURRECTION OF ZACHARY WHEELER is a weird little sci fi movie most probably forgotten by today's audiences. Certainly the low budget of the thing is off-putting, but if you can overcome the film's deficiencies then you might just enjoy it nonetheless. This is a fun little cloning thriller that plays out with the same kind of verve as a Michael Crichton film or the likes of THE CHINA SYNDROME.

Leslie Nielsen stars in the straight role of a reporter who witnesses a politician being mortally injured in a car accident. Before long the whole thing is hushed up, so he takes it upon himself to investigate and uncover the truth, which is that the government have begun a cloning scheme in order to harvest spare parts. There are a few chase scenes here, alongside some moments involving people in dodgy blue make up, and it's all very limited. But the film covers the same paranoid government conspiracy ground as many a '70s thriller, and Nielsen gives a solid performance as the lead. Bradford Dillman and Angie Dickinson play in support.

Another politically loaded sci-fi fable from the pen of the writer of 'The Creation of the Humanoids', much of it shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Fairly typical of the sort of thing Leslie Nielsen was making in his days as a straight actor, this has a very similar plot 'Seconds' and 'Never Let Me Go', but with more emphasis on action (and a generally rather whimsical score by Marlin Skiles). As it unfolds it splits into two separate narratives involving Nielsen on one hand and Dillman on the other.

But the mood darkens considerably (and the plot turns far more ghoulish) as the political implications of creating longevity for a select and amoral few (here decided by a cabal called the Committee of Nine) are explored. And when the two strands finally come together there's a zinger of a punchline.

Angie Dickinson (now ninety) also has a raunchy scene shaving Dillman.

I was shocked as to how good this film is

Such that I cannot believe no decent writer or director has done an update.

With all the effects available today I can see an update as a great success

In the meantime a good watch and Nielsen running around in all seriousness pre Airplane.. Priceless

This is a surprisingly suspenseful and thought-provoking sci-fi movie. Even more topical and relevant today, as cloning and organ transplantation become more mature. To what lengths will we go, what will we pay, to be cured of our worst degenerative diseases and to live almost forever? How much power would an organisation have, that could give us such health and near-immortality?

A senator (Dillman) is near-fatally injured in a car wreck witnessed only by intrepid reporter (Nielsen) whose eyewitness account is gagged for national security purposes. Discontent with the ruse, Nielsen investigates and ends up discovering an elaborate human organ harvesting clinic that potentially holds the key to mankind's survival - but only a select few. Science Fiction/pseudo political thriller chooses to focus on the moral dilemmas of its cause, resorting to limp-wristed protection of its diabolical secrets, when opposition threaten to reveal the project's secrets.

Small in scale, and more akin to the production values of a telemovie than a fully fledged feature film, there are however some assets in the cast and one or two plot twists to which you can look forward. Dillman as the title character spends most of his time comatose and then in a wheelchair debating scientific heresy, while Dickinson looks more like a space cadet than the dedicated doctor, who believes her work is of national significance. Nielsen is essentially the central character, a tenacious reporter not content to digest the force-fed facts without due interrogation. He spends most of the film, piecing together evidence that eventually leads him to the mysterious clinic in New Mexico. Noted stage actor Daly is also quite effective as the clinic's principal surgeon; his attempt to rationalise the existence of the coneheaded clones (called Somas) lies more in the field of fantasy than it does in any serious debate on human cloning.

Well scripted, with okay special effects, concerned mostly of pale-faced make-up on stupefied faces - the Dillman zoo experiment is unintentionally funny, his 'full retard' no doubt perfected by hours of rehearsals and takes. Dressed in monk-like garb with coneheaded frontal lobe projection, the Somas are also quite inspired imagery; more emphasis on their existence might have balanced the argument better, but their brief inclusion is still an alarming visual demonstration of the human harvesting process depicted in the film. Despite its 100 minutes, there's ample action, characterisation and plot development; had the climax resolved more satisfactorily, the film might have become a minor cult favourite, ahead of its time in terms of content. As it is, a worthy sci-fi companion, and perhaps no longer such a distant prospect.