Isolation (2005)

On a remote Irish farm, five people become unwilling participants in an experiment that goes nightmarishly wrong.

Director:

Billy O'Brien

Writer:

Billy O'Brien

Stars:

Essie Davis, Sean Harris, Marcel Iures

9 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Essie Davis	...	Orla
Sean Harris	...	Jamie
Marcel Iures	...	John
Crispin Letts	...	Doctor
John Lynch	...	Dan
Ruth Negga	...	Mary
Stanley Townsend	...	Garda Hourigan

Storyline

The broken farmer Dan rents his farm for the scientist John from the Bovine Genetics Technology that is researching genetic modifications of cattle to increase its fertilization. The veterinarian Orla 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 and Mary 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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

cow farting | coitus | cult | natural horror | creature feature | 

---

Taglines:

A horror film set on a lonely farm in rural Ireland

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/gore, language and a scene of sexuality

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Inside the Barn: Creating Isolation (2007)

---

Soundtracks

I'm Going To Make You Love Me
Performed by Jim Ford
From the album "Jim Ford - Harlan County" Sundown 1002; 1969
(p)(c)2000 Varèse Sarabande Records, Inc.
Under license from Varèse Sarabande Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Very well made modern horror flick!

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!

Details

Country:

UK Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2006 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Isolation

Filming Locations:

Manor Kilbride, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

GBP2,900,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$278,056

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Four, Lions Gate Films, Bórd Scannán na hÉireann

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1