Isolation DVD with Essie Davis, Sean Harris, Marcel Iures (Unrated) +Movie Reviews

A hidden gem of a monster movie.

M. B Cole | Las Vegas, NV | 05/01/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I went blind into `Isolation'. I must've read reviews on it before since I put it in my wish list, but I didn't remember anything about it. Honestly, I thought it was a Asian black haired horror movie because of the cover of the DVD. Then when I read the back (after already having ordered it), I was quite intrigued, but still thought it was gonna be another `so-so' movie.

To say the least, I was very surprised with this movie. Talk about a throw back to good horror. First off this movie doesn't treat you as a dummy. It assumes you can understand what is going unlike Hollywood who has to explain EVERYTHING nowadays. I absolutely loved that because it makes the movie seem more real, even though it's a monster movie. Second, the atmosphere was unbelievable. Another great throwback. The setting, the scenery, the lighting... all reminded me of some old great movies such as The Thing and Alien. I felt cold and wet. I could smell the cow manure. I could sense the feeling of being alone. And then there were the special effects. NO CG THANK GOD. Finally a movie goes back to the way a monster movie should be made. And it looked ever so real. The gore that was used was nicely and realistically done. The characters themselves were great also. Once again the movie doesn't tell you everything. And you know what, this is a horror/monster movie. Not a drama. I don't need to be told exactly what's going on these peoples lives. Just a little history and I'm good. And that's what is done here. We have our farmer (we find out that he used to be with the vet), our vet (who works for the scientist and MIGHT be involved with him), the scientist (who is crazy, or mad, or a genius), and two lovers (an interracial couple whose on the run from the girls brothers because her family doesn't like the guy).

And last but not least, we have the story. Not only is the story good, but the pacing of it is great. It, once again, reminds me a lot of older classics, and I can't help but, once again, think of `The Thing' and `Alien'. The reason why is because the pacing is slow, but not slow enough to bore you. They throw in certain things to keep your interest up and running. The movie doesn't just rush into it's monster. It takes its time with it. I love the fact that we are pretty much thrown into the middle of what's going on. The scientist has already done what he has done to the farmers cow, whether it was genetic engineering, or maybe cloning, I'm not sure, and I'm FINE with that. I don't care, because it was still interesting and left my mind wandering. The cow is close to giving birth already and the vet is there to check on her. She shoves her hand in the cow (I seriously couldn't tell if this was real or fake, and if it was real, wow... that actress really wanted that part..lol), and checks on the calf, only to get bitten. When the calf is born, you can tell there is something wrong with it right away. But there is even something more wrong with it than expected.

Was the movie perfect? Nah. Not really. There were a couple things that made me wonder why the heck would they do that (like the tractor scene in the water). But most of the movie was really well done. I thought the monster was interesting. You do see it, but not that great, and it looks weird. It wasn't very scary, yet at the same time it was. Mainly cause you know what it could do to you. And if I could change ONE thing about this movie, it would be how it ended. I wont ruin it for you, but I think they should've ended it where this one person was walking off...close scene...credits roll. We know what is going to happen after that because we are smart enough to know. The whole time in this movie you assumed this. Why give us a Hollywood ending where they have to tell you what's up... heh. But it doesn't ruin the movie, it's just that I didn't need it in there.

I highly recommend this movie. I also highly recommend you watch this at night and in the dark. And if it's raining outside, that would be even better.

"

Interesting sci-fi horror

z hayes | TX | 06/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a previous reviewer has mentioned, there have been some pretty good offerings in the horror genre from Britain [The Descent]and yes, Ireland recently and Isolation is definitely worth a watch. The setting is a rural farm somewhere in Ireland I presume, and the cast of characters [human that is] is made up of Farmer Dan, a female vet, a scientist, and a young couple, Jamie and Mary [who are on the run from Mary's disapproving brothers]. The premise: the farm is the setting for a biogenetics experiment, and a cow births a genetically mutated calf...the rest of the story deals with the repercussions of this event. Though the plot seems rather simple, the story moves at a steady but suspenseful pace and the stalking of the prey [the humans & other cows on the farm] by the predator makes for compelling and scary viewing. Though there is some allusions to other movies like Alien, The Fly etc...I still found it to be quite an enjoyable and intelligent sci-fi horror flick that is worth a watch. The acting was credible and the effects sufficient in evoking a menacing atmosphere."

INTENSE!!! A great addition to the horror collection

C. Christopher Blackshere | I am the devil's reject | 03/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Something has gone horribly wrong at the farm. Some shady scientists perform some fertility tests on a cow. And there are some disastrous results, to say the least.

Isolation is a unique, terifying little gem. I am very suprised this is relatively unknown. Everything is done exceptionally well--acting, pacing, script, effects--it all adds up to an entertaining, frightful good time for any serious horror fan.

(You popcorn horror fans stay away) 4.5 stars"

One Of The Most Flinch-Inducing And Authentic-Feeling Horror

Stephen B. O'Blenis | Nova Scotia, Canada | 12/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Isolation" is one of the most riveting and frightening horror movies of the year, and one that retains a very real, believable air to it as it changes in tone from a kind of 'quiet' horror to a faster-paced, more apocalyptic tone. With movies like this one, it's hard to know how much to say: on the one hand, you want to give people enough to go on, on the other hand there's a lot to be said for going into this kind of film without too much foreknowledge. Starting off with a description of the opening acts should be safe.

The setting is an isolated farm in rural Ireland where special attention is being payed to a pair of pregnant cows. A lone man lives at the farm, but two scientists are dropping by regularly to check on the bovines, the result of some kind of deal the farm-owner seems to be wavering toward regretting. A pair of young lovers in a beat-up old van who seem to be on the run from something and have chosen the general vicinity of that farm as a place to lay low for awhile, also enter the movie at an early point and end up caught in the events that are about to take place. One night, the farm-owner is alone when one of the cows begins to give birth, a birthing about to go horribly awry.

The movie is in no rush to get to the mayhem, and builds with a pace that I guess could be compared to that of "Alien" or "The Descent". Very strong acting and excellent characterization do a lot to propel the story, and the interaction between different characters, even (in a nice touch) extending to the human characters and the farm animals. The guy who runs the farm, for example, starts off seeming rather curt and nonsociable, but he keeps slipping and showing a concerned, softer side toward the movie's other players, including the animals. He's like this old-fashioned breed of farmer, the kind who has names for and notices different mannerisms about each of the creatures he's got, and that also plays really well into the whole 'second thoughts' thing he's having about whether he should have gotten involved in what the company employing the main scientist, is working at.

The special effects are phenomenal, actually superior to an awful lot of movies that probably have fifty times the budget. Bob Keen, the same guy who headed up the effects department on the first couple "Hellraiser" movies, did a lot of the design here. (Keen also directed 1995's criminally underappreciated, Still-unavailable-on-DVD "Proteus", which is a movie I highly recommend to anyone who likes "Isolation")

This is essential viewing for any horror fan. Of all the lower-profile horror movies of the last few years (it only went theatrical in a handful of countries, and there only on a few screens) this is one of the best possible picks out there, and one of the ones that most richly deserved to join movies like "Saw" and "Exorcism Of Emily Rose" as global hits. 10/10"

Mad Cow Disease looks like a good thing compared to what's o

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 07/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Isolation" has one of the more unusual hooks for a horror film you are ever likely to see. Dan (John Lynch) is running a remote (one might even say isolated) farm out in the Irish countryside, and he is worried about one of his cows that is about to give birth. So he calls up the town veterinarian, Orla (Essie Davis), who checks on the fetus by putting her arm, up to the elbow, into the cow. Then she gets bit, are first clear sign that something is not right on Dan's farm. It turns out that in an effort to make ends meet Dan has allowed his cattle to be part of a research project that wants to increase fertility and beef production as well. Just as it starts to look like the project is going to produce results, the cows gives birth to an unusual calf. For starters, the calf is born pregnant, and if you are suddenly reminded of the Tribbles from "Star Trek," you will not be alone, but you will be on the wrong track.

The risk is not just mutant monsters, but the threat of contagion, which at least resonates with memories of the threat of Mad Cow disease. Joinging the farmer and the vet are a geneticist, John (Marcel Iures) who gets to provide necessary explanations and explosition (plus being the most obvious victim for the beasties), and a young couple, Mary (Ruth Negga) and Jamie (Sean Harris), who are avoiding their parents by hiding out on Dan's farm. Now squatting will be the least of their problems since fooling around with Mother Nature always has disastrous results in horror movies.

The upside of this film is that director Billy O'Brien knows how to film a horror movie and to take advantage of the dark and dirty farm setting. The opening sequences does a nice job of setting the mood, which matters because this is a movie about killer cows. The downside of this film is that in the last half it is basically "Alien" with cows, not that there is anything wrong with that (Although my mind immediately went to the Howard The Duck story, "Hellcow," that appeared in "Giant-Size Man-Thing" #5, which involved a bovine vampire, complete with the cape). But as the movie goes along and gets less original and more derivative, it becomes less effective. I ended up rounding up on this DVD because it includes an earlier short work by O'Brien, "The Tale of the Rat That Wrote." Do not attempt to connect the dots begween this short and the featured film, just enjoy this DVD bonus."

Search - Isolation on DVD

Movie Details

Similar Movies

Similarly Requested DVDs

Member Movie Reviews

Movie Reviews