It’s rare nowadays where valuable tension or fear is not ruined by cheap jump scares. This is where directing duo Will Howarth and Tom McKeith buck that trend with thriller In Vitro.
Australian cinema recently and over the past few years is enjoying a period of success and that trend seems set to continue.
When a film opens to rural landscape complete with a dark looming sky accompanied by an ominous score it clearly signals something is brewing. Those shots that we see throughout do well as a reminder of the secluded setting and generates that feeling of being trapped.
All contained within one location of a cattle farm we meet married couple Jack (Ashley Zukerman) and Layla (Talia Zucker).
This is a thriller with hints of horror and elements of sci-fi where it doesn’t dive too deep into the latter. It’s somewhere in the near future, no clear indication of exactly when but where the advent of new technology for breeding cattle could be revolutionary.
Glimpses of newspaper articles sets the tone for how invested these characters are in this new venture. And it is set against a backdrop of themes on climate change and economic downturn that gives it added relevance.
From the offset the relationship, chemistry, between the couple is askew with suggestions of an unbalanced power dynamic. Talia Zucker gives a performance that is riveting, well measured and more importantly feels grounded. There is a sort of casual menacing presence from Ashley Zukerman and energy on-screen that makes you feel unsettled.
There are shades of Alex Garland’s Ex Machina about this movie – in the way the story unfolds but more crucially that it’s not sci-fi but more focused on relationships and how certain events change that.
Throughout the score from Helena Czajka helps continue to build that tension. There are scares, moments of humour to ease the tension but both of which are well placed and well timed.
The atmosphere that Howarth and McKeith creates is palpable. The isolated setting adds to the intrigue and mystery. You would think with how very little is revealed that it would suffer from serious lag but it is generally well paced.
Certain developments could be introduced slightly sooner. But it is not completely detrimental. Once it gets going and events unfold there’s an uptick in pace which helps.
Where the story goes is rather unexpected. But, again, everything is grounded with the focus being on the relationship between the two characters. And this is In Vitro’s biggest success.
2025 Glasgow Film Festival – Tickets for films and full programme available here.
