Customer Reviews

Subject Two

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was lucky enough to catch this film this past April while visiting Chicago. It's release has been very limited, but fortunately, we have the DVD release to look forward to this summer, currently scheduled for the 18th of July. Those people who like to throw genre labels onto films may have a tough time with this one. It's got sci-fi, horror, drama and even some dark comedy, but ultimately, it's simply absorbing. In a nutshell, Subject Two features a character by the name of Adam Schmidt, a troubled medical student who receives a call from Dr. Franklin Vick, who offers Adam the chance to work alongside side with him on an experiment that he's been keeping under wraps in his residence high up amid snow covered mountains.
What the good doc doesn't tell Adam is that the main Subject he is using is actually Adam, Subject Two (hence the title.) Dr. Vick is experimenting with resurrection. Catching him off guard, Dr. Vick kills Adam and then brings him back to life a short while later. After Dr. Vick explains to Adam what the experiment is all about, Adam agress to be his guinea pig, which leads to more death episodes for Adam, who has now agreed to die over and over. That's all I'll say about the storyline. The film is best viewed without knowing too much. Subject Two may have been filmed on a limited budget, but there's nothing cheap about the quality. There's a few noticeable technical bumps in the film, but nothing to hamper it. The acting is excellent. Dean Stapleton's spooky-sexy performance as the unrelenting Dr. Vick is quite impressive. At times he seems a bit unstable, but yet has his moments of sensitive emotions which he tries to hide from Adam. Christian Oliver is convincing as the introverted medical student willing to try something that could possibly kill him for good. Just when you think you have him pegged, he does some things that makes you wonder if he may have more in common with Dr. Vick than we thought. There's a fairly brief but memorable performance by Jurgen Jones as an illegal hunter who accidentally mistakes Adam for game and shoots him dead... or so he thinks. His surprise when Adam stands up and starts to talk to him is wonderfully comic. Sure, he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but you can't help but feel sorry for the guy.
Then there's the music. Full of lush intensity and doom, it's never intrusive. Instead, it seeps into your skin and makes it crawl. Immediately after seeing the film, I got to speak to Dean Stapleton and Christian Oliver. I asked how they could afford an orchestra for the film's score, only to be informed that all of the music was performed by composer Eric Godal.
The scenery is spectacular. It's interesting how snow covered mountains can look so beautiful and creepy at the same time, but that's probably due to the whole tension of the film, thanks mainly to Director and writer Philip Chidel, who also makes a brief but chilling performance in the film.
Don't miss this one, folks. It may be hard to shake off right away after seeing it, but that's what a well done thriller is supposed to do, right?

I went in to watching this movie expecting very little. In the end, I was suggesting it to my friends and letting them borrow it. It is an enjoyable thriller with pretty good acting. It absorbs you into the setting, which in this case would be the remote, snowy wilderness, and keeps you interested in what is happening with these people. For the price, you really can't beat it. Check it out!

Excellent movie!

Acting was superb, scenery fantastic and theme is an often recurring theme which is rarely treated with the reality this film shows.

The side effects of the experiments makes one wonder about the real the possibility of immortality and its effects on the multiple facets of society.

Nanotechnology is no longer fiction, and will eventually become an essential part of the scientific arena as well as the medical one.

All in all, the film is incredibly hypnotizing and disturbing.... a true thriller and a must see.

Subject Two was the best movie that we have seen in quite some time. BRAVO! The filmmaker did a superb job in all aspects. We are hoping for a sequel. You won't fall asleep during this movie!

I enjoyed every minute of this movie! From the first scene you get involved with the main character and start to feel what life is like in his shoes. Soon after, the movies main setting comes into play: the wilderness. The acting in this movie is top-notch, and the filming and screen-play were very well done. I loved the premise of this movie and the plot was very disturbing but still belivable.
This is the best horror-thriller I have seen in a while, and true fans of the genre will most likly enjoy this as well.

It took me awhile before I realized Subject Two was actually a modern remake of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The first hint is the name of the doctor, "Franklyn Vick" (Jack Nicholson clone Dean Stapleton), a take on Dr. Victor Frankenstein from the novel. The second hint is the name of his patient, Adam (Christian Oliver) - the name Shelley gave the monster.

In modern parlance, Frankenstein's monster was the first zombie. That connection is made clear in Subject Two, where poor Adam is lured to Dr. Vick's cabin, brutally strangled, and then resuscitated...again and again and again.

Subject Two takes place a snowy mountainous region is as much a character as doctor and patient. The place looks and feels isolated enough that we believe Vick can get away with murder.

Subject Two is so sparse that it could easily be a stage play; there are only two additional characters, and both are intruders to the cozy world of master and servant, doctor and patient. The first is the monster's potential mate, Kate (all-American girl Courtney Mace). Her presence is brief, but the promise of a date is a tantalizing reminder of our own mortality: love, marriage, children. Dr. Vick takes it all away.

The other character is a nameless hunter (Jurgen Jones) who accidentally stumbles on the odd couple's secret. The outsider presence is an important test of Adam's faith in his creator. His fate is a pivotal turning point in Vick and Adam's relationship.

Throughout, the experiment is a grim reminder of science at its worst. He feigns impartiality by talking into his recorder, then murders his creation as violently as possible. Vick alternates between fretting over Adam's pain and causing it. If there's a message in Subject Two, it's that life is pain - experiencing it is an important part of what makes life worth living. To avoid pain is to become inhuman.

Subject Two could easily be a half hour shorter. There are long shots of people stumping around in the snow intercut with flashbacks and red blood cells. But if you're patient, Subject Two is quite rewarding. The twist ending neatly ties up a scene early in the movie that starts, literally, with a bang. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to get there.

At the time I write this there are 23 reviews and I think the rating average is too low.
It's a great movie, and the 5 and 4 star reviews are right on.

Regards,
EdB

A failing med student named Adam (Christian Oliver) joins a Dr. (Dean Stapleton) in his experiments w/ re-animating the dead. Alas, poor Adam should have stayed in med school! SUBJECT TWO takes elements of the FRANKENSTEIN story, and gives them a modern jolt of bloody insanity. It's pretty much a two-man show, w/ Oliver and Stapleton at a remote, mountain lodge. Still, the story is intriguing (and horrific) enough to make things move right along. There's more to S2 than simply raising the dead, as the ethics of such a venture are disected and analyzed. This relatively obscure movie deserves a chance. Check it out...

Surprisingly, a pretty good flick. Low budget, but filmed very well - and the story line is pretty creative! Definately worth a watch.

I didn't know anything about this movie until I watched it. I am very glad that I chose this movie to watch because it is excellent!!! It is a very different kind of horror thriller and it is made on a very small budget. I guess in the age of the internet, it makes you think twice about answering an "ad" of any type because bad things could happen. See the movie for yourself. I am not going to give away any of the story because that is half of the fun of the movie. I highly recommend this one!!!