On July 12, District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp released his third short film via Oats Studios. It follows Rakka, which stars Sigourney Weaver, and Firebase, a Vietnam War story with a horror twist.
In Zygote, a “synthetic” named Barkley (Dakota Fanning) and her superior Quinn (Jose Pablo Cantillo) are trapped in a futuristic Arctic mining facility, seemingly the lone survivors of some kind of attack or disaster. We learn that some something is out to get them, some kind of monster made of strung together rat brains and pig organs.
The short doesn’t boast groundbreaking dialogue or a deep storyline. It does, however, make effective use of lighting, score, and design elements to craft an adrenaline-fueled, futuristic atmosphere, like the most exciting parts of John Carpenter’s The Thing crammed into a meager 22-minute runtime. Fanning in particular is memorable as a relatively normal character in an extraordinary situation, and we’re treated to intense and frightening visuals in addition to slower, earned scares. And the monster is creative, creepy, and unforgettable.
Watch Zygote below or on Oats Studios’ YouTube channel.
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