IN VITRO: There's More Than Cows in Jack's Barn

IN VITRO (Blu-ray)

2024 / 88 min

Well Go USA

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Ballcrusher😺

Sometimes all you need is a cool idea, a couple of decent actors and a remote farmhouse. That’s pretty much all directors Will Howarth and Tom Mckeith had to work with anyway, and still managed to put together a nifty little lo-fi sci-fi film. In Vitro isn’t very flashy, but what it lacks in visual panache is compensated by an intriguing story, effective performances and pretty cool twist ending.

Taking place in the near future, where agriculture is a dying industry, Jack and Layla run a remote ranch and struggle to make ends meet. However, Jack (Ashley Zuckerman) has been experimenting with ways to genetically “grow” his own cows, hoping to sell the cloned cattle to local buyers. Layla (Talia Zucker, who co-wrote the screenplay) remains supportive, but she doesn’t appear very happy with her life, stuck maintaining the farm and taking care of Jack. She also misses their son, who’s away at boarding school.

"Not tonight, honey. You smell too beefy."

Then while investigating a disturbance in the barn, Layla discovers more than just cows. I won’t say what, but it’s a plot development I didn’t see coming. This revelation not-only horrifies Layla, it immediately changes the viewer’s perception of Jack. Where we once thought of him as simply self-absorbed and indifferent to her unhappiness, now he’s the film’s detestable antagonist with a twisted agenda, becoming more repellant as the story plays out.

In Vitro is slow going at first, perhaps intentionally in order to establish the couple’s drab existence. In essence, we tend to feel as bored and restless as Layla, at least until her discovery. The film doesn’t turn into an action fest - remaining pretty deliberately paced - but there’s new urgency and tension as Layla realizes the implications of what Jack’s doing…and why she needs to escape. But the best twist comes at the end, bringing In Vitro to a satisfying conclusion. The movie may lack a big budget, but big ideas, smart writing and a couple of interesting main characters make it worth checking out.