Subject Two

Director: Philip Chidel
Screenwriters: Philip Chidel

Institute History

  • 2006 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Director Philip Chidel's haunting psychological thriller, Subject Two, is a chilling tale of death and resurrection that gives an exciting modern update to the classic Frankenstein tale. Set against the bright, breathtaking world of the snow-peaked Rocky Mountains, this morbid and violent study of life and immortality reminds us we must always be careful what we ask for.

High atop the world in his remote mountain cabin, Dr. Franklin Vick is engaged in a line of highly controversial medical research…resurrection. Vick's work draws in Adam Schmidt, a troubled and iconoclastic medical student, who decides to answer the doctor's call for an assistant and soon joins the cause of resurrecting the dead in the name of science. Together, the doctor and his new assistant work in snowbound isolation, perfecting their death tactics before unleashing their discovery on the world. Their research brings the scientists to both spectacular and questionable results, including horrible side effects in the experimental subject. As Dr. Vick struggles to refine his scientific methods, Adam increasingly comes to question the validity of their research.

A thoroughly compelling ride, Subject Two is as much a clever inversion of the resurrection horror genre as it is a profound and ethical examination of the value of life and immortality.

— Shari Frilot

Screening Details

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