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Embryo

  • 1976
  • PG
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
5.1/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
Embryo (1976)
A scientist doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. All is not well though as the child begins to exhibit some horrific tendencies.
Play trailer1:34
1 Video
27 Photos
Body HorrorHorrorSci-Fi

A scientist (Rock Hudson) doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. All is not well though as the child begins to ... Read allA scientist (Rock Hudson) doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. All is not well though as the child begins to exhibit some horrific tendencies.A scientist (Rock Hudson) doing experiments on a human fetus discovers a method to accelerate the fetus into a mature adult in just a few days. All is not well though as the child begins to exhibit some horrific tendencies.

  • Director
    • Ralph Nelson
  • Writers
    • Anita Doohan
    • Jack W. Thomas
  • Stars
    • Rock Hudson
    • Barbara Carrera
    • Diane Ladd
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.1/10
    1.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ralph Nelson
    • Writers
      • Anita Doohan
      • Jack W. Thomas
    • Stars
      • Rock Hudson
      • Barbara Carrera
      • Diane Ladd
    • 45User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:34
    Trailer

    Photos27

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    Top cast18

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    Rock Hudson
    Rock Hudson
    • Dr. Paul Holliston
    Barbara Carrera
    Barbara Carrera
    • Victoria Spencer
    Diane Ladd
    Diane Ladd
    • Martha Douglas
    Roddy McDowall
    Roddy McDowall
    • Frank Riley
    Anne Schedeen
    Anne Schedeen
    • Helen Holliston
    John Elerick
    • Gordon Holliston
    Vincent Baggetta
    Vincent Baggetta
    • Collier
    Jack Colvin
    Jack Colvin
    • Dr. Jim Winston
    Joyce Brothers
    Joyce Brothers
    • Dr. Joyce Brothers
    • (as Dr. Joyce Brothers)
    Dick Winslow
    Dick Winslow
    • John Forbes
    Ken Washington
    • Dr. Brink
    Lina Raymond
    • Janet Novak
    Sharri Zak
    • Nurse
    • (as Sherri Zak)
    Joyce Spitz
    Joyce Spitz
    • Trainer
    George Sawaya
    • Policeman
    Hank Robinson
    Hank Robinson
    • Ambulance Attendant
    Chuck Comisky
    • Fireman
    Bob Reynolds
    • Doctor
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ralph Nelson
    • Writers
      • Anita Doohan
      • Jack W. Thomas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews45

    5.11.8K
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    Featured reviews

    fantasmic1971

    Okay but not great

    I just saw this film for the first time now. The film has a weird intro with the opening credits playing over pictures of unborn fetus's. That was a little uncomfortable to watch but I sat through the rest anyways.

    It's a little slow at times, but all in all it's not too bad. The ending is a little over the top but can still give you chills.

    If you've never seen it & you're a movie buff, sure...watch it. Otherwise, it's not really one for the young crowd.
    7disdressed12

    well done cautionary tale (AKA- Created to Kill)

    i really enjoyed this movie.i thought the acting was very good,and the storyline well developed.i'm sure the movie was inspired by past literary works and movies,but i think it also inspired other movies and novels.so,obviously it's not wholly original,but it does have its own original elements to it.it's a cautionary tale for sure and it's just as relevant today, probably more so .the only negative thing i can say about it is that it can be a bit slow,and the first half has an almost clinical feel to it.by this i mean at times it's a bit dry and almost too scientific.overall,though i think it was a well done movie.i give Embryo a 7/10
    Crap_Connoisseur

    Retro Sci-Fi Gem

    This film has aged as gracefully as Mickey Rourke. The special effects are hilariously bad, the lab equipment belongs in a museum and the plot is dubious to say the least. And yet, these are the very things that make "Embryo" such entertaining viewing.

    I think it's only fair to judge special effects in old movies by the technology available to the filmmakers at the time. However, even by 1970s standards, the special effects in this film are remarkably unconvincing. The obvious use of dolls for babies, the fluffy toy that doubles for a dog and the mesmerising plastic canine foetus are all memorable. Personally, I find these kind of effects utterly charming. They inject humour into the film (albeit unintentionally) and due to their lack of authenticity, make the subject matter of experimenting on foetuses more palatable.

    Technology junkies will love the bus sized computers and pre-historic lab equipment. The film's heartening lack of moralising is almost as much of its time as the outdated hardware. I hate to think how preachy this film would be if it were made today.

    This film is a bizarre and amusing time capsule of 1970s technology and morality. See it, if only for the bewildering dog foetus.
    7Huntress-2

    A little out-dated, but still scary

    Okay, I admit, the movie theme isn't as frightening now as it might have been in the 70s when the film was made. Still, the movie was an interesting and somewhat disturbing view of a scientific experiment gone wrong.
    6planktonrules

    You would have thought by 1976 that doctors would have learned NOT to play God!

    Okay, I'll admit it--you need to suspend disbelief on this one--A LOT of disbelief! But, you have to do this all the time in movies so stretching this just a bit further might enable you to enjoy this film. I know that I went in with very low expectations after reading the IMDb reviews, but it turned out to be a decent little movie about yet another doctor who wanted to play God.

    The film begins with a doctor (Rock Hudson) hitting a dog. He takes the pooch home and tries to save it, but he's unsuccessful. But here's the weird part--using some special serum he'd been working on, he injects the dog's surviving puppies to try to save it. That's because the puppy is WAY too young to survive. Speeding up its growth at an astronomical rate enabled the puppy to grow many weeks in a matter of hours and it survives.

    A short time later, the doctor decides to play God with a human. Taking a recently dead pregnant woman, he's able to remove the small fetus and grow it in his lab at an even faster rate. The problem is that for some time he cannot stop its fast growth and the fetus ends up becoming a full-grown woman by the time he's arrested the fast growth. At first, things seem great as the woman is a sort of super-woman--with amazing learning skills and intelligence and the ability to be well-coiffed despite being raised in a lab. Plus, and here's the best part, it turns out to be an amazingly HOT young lady (Barbara Carrera). What's next? Well, I'd say more but don't want to spoil the plot. Suffice to say that the lady's moral reasoning abilities are at times VERY suspect...yet hot! Despite the prologue that makes it sound as if this technology is possible, it certainly is not! But, it did make for an interesting film with a few nice surprises (such as at the very end). A word of note--you WILL see a lot of Miss Carrera in this one, so perhaps it's best not shown to your small children or mother!

    Related interests

    Jeff Goldblum in La Mouche (1986)
    Body Horror
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in L'Empire contre-attaque (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      First of two back-to-back sci-fi/horror films for Barbara Carrera, who appeared in the following year's L'île du docteur Moreau (1977). Both films were produced by Sandy Howard and included three of the same make-up department personnel.
    • Goofs
      Methotrexate, although definitely a powerful drug, is not addictive at all, and an MD would know that.
    • Quotes

      Frank Riley: [Stunned during the chess match] Hold on! You've played this game before!

    • Crazy credits
      A caption is shown stating that the science of the movie is within our grasp.
    • Connections
      Edited into Pale Moonlight Theater: Embryo (2014)

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 21, 1976 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El embrión mortífero
    • Filming locations
      • La Cañada-Flintridge, California, USA(Mansion scenes.)
    • Production companies
      • Sandy Howard Productions
      • Plura Service Company
      • Turp Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $1,400,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 44m(104 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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