Science fiction has always been a means to push the limits of human imagination. It has the ability to bring us to fantastic new worlds full of wonder. There is another aspect of Sci-Fi that has helped it to become one of the most popular genres in literature, television and film. It plays upon the current fears of society and escalates it to an extreme. In the thirties it was the growing dependence on technology that had people frightened. Then, after World War II was ended with the use of two atomic bombs and the cold war threat of nuclear weapons it seemed that every science fiction flick used radiation as the cause for the dire predicament at hand. Now the genie that has been loose from its bottle is genetic manipulation. Science is now able to take apart and reassemble DNA, the fundamental building blocks of all known life. In a recent news article there are now substantiated reports of regular people performing recombinant DNA experiments in their homes. They are splicing and reforming genes all in the comfort of their garage or basements. While this is in the tradition of a long history of people inventing in their homes there are more than some concerns about the growing practice. Sure there have been a lot of scientific breakthroughs made by talented amateurs but there is also a vast difference between inventing a gadget and creating a new, previously unheard of form of life. Many are afraid that a super germ of some sort could be inadvertently or deliberately manufactured; a new germ that results in a disease with no known cure. Hopefully this worse case scenario will never manifest but the threat of it is more than enough for an imaginative science fiction writer. Although I just read about these new gene hackers a few days ago there is already a movie that employs this theme; ‘Gene Generation’. The film was released in 2007 so in this case science fiction is already become scientific fact and that makes for an intriguing story. The movie had a miniscule budget of only $2.5 million but much to my surprise and delight did well with the extremely limited resources. It was premiered at the American Film Institute and made the usual rounds in the independent film festivals. In lieu of a theatrical release the movie is going straight to DVD. Just remember that in this modern age there is no longer the stigma of ‘horrible flick’ attached to this form of distribution. The release is being handled by Lion’s Gate who has continued to make a great name with the distribution of worthy flicks that otherwise would go largely unnoticed.

A rich and seemingly never source of science fiction thrillers has become the comic book or graphic novel. This is the case here. The original graphic novel was written by Pearry Reginald Teo. This is not just a man sitting in some dank loft writing comics. Teo was the first film director from Singapore to make an American movie. He also has a substantial reputation for his bizarre horror flicks. The man certainly knows how to tell a scary story. Translating the story to the screen fell to Keith Collea. This may be his first script but Collea has a long and varied career in such a broad range of fields that encompass director of photography, video supervisor, line producer and HDTV supervisor. In his resume are films like ‘Children of Dune’, ‘Titanic’, ‘Independence Day’ and ‘Ali’. Considering the incredible talent crafting this film I realized that my initial assessment that this would be just another low budget Sci-Fi horror flick was about to change. It shows that you can’t judge a DVD by the box art. At the heart of the story is the cutting edge in genetic manipulation. A discovery is made that can relief suffering but there is a dark downside; genetic mutations. This allows Collea to bring in a great plot device, the conspiracy theory. People love to thing that the government and huge corporations are keeping some sinister truth from the public. This story is admittedly not the best in town but it gain and hold your interest and is head and shoulders above the recent pack.

Pearry Tao also directed this movie. As mentioned he has a solid background in horror and that reflects in his style here. This film is in truth a horror Sci-Fi and while many attempt this particular genre combination most are not able to create something that holds together as well as this one does. There is a feeling of punk rock rave infused in the look of the movie. This is able to pull in a younger crowd which does appear to be the target demographic here. I do readily admit that much of my trepidation about this movie came from its choice of leading actress, Bai Ling. I have seen her in interviews and she comes across as a complete ditz and she does seem to have a problem keeping her top fully on while in public. Then I remembered her small but pivotal role in the TV drama, ‘Lost’. She can really act. She does a more than credible job in this role.

In the not too distant future Michelle (Bi Ling) works finding so called gene hackers. These are criminals who steal the genetic identities of their victims ultimately killing them. Michelle is proficient in several forms of martial arts which frequently comes in handy in her profession. Although Michelle is basically an assassin she has a softer side especially when it comes to her shy and retiring brother, Jackie (Parry Shen). He has a perchance for getting into more trouble than he can handle. In one instance he winds up involved in a small time robbery that gets him involved with the dreaded gene hackers. Meanwhile there is a recent discover of a gene therapy that can heal most injuries I a matter of minutes. The big downside is it results in genetic mutations. There is great potential for this to be used as a weapon. There is an explosion in the lab killing the scientist except two; the greedy Josephine Hayden (Faye Dunaway) and the more conscious driven Christian (Alec Newman). Christian takes off with the prototype and the search for him is on.

There is a very interesting look to this film. It is dark, blending Goth and modernistic cityscapes with a fascinating impact on the audience. It takes the audience into a strange world with this type of genetic technology would not only be possible but necessary. This is the kind of film that sneaks up on you. It is well constructed and presented. Lion’s Gate has always be known for distributing quirky little flicks and this is one of their better offerings.