''Embryo'' is a 1976 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

horror film directed by

Ralph Nelson Ralph Nelson (August 12, 1916 – December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), '' Father Goose'' (1964), and '' Charly'' (1968 ...

starring

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

, Barbara Carrera, and Diane Ladd with a cameo appearance by

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

. It deals with the mental and physical consequences of growing a human embryo in an

artificial uterus An artificial womb or artificial uterus is a device that would allow for extracorporeal pregnancy by growing a fetus outside the body of an organism that would normally carry the fetus to term. An artificial uterus, as a replacement organ, w ...

. The film is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

Plot

Dr. Paul Holliston (

) is a geneticist who has been living alone in his rambling clinic, which he operates out of his home, after losing his wife in a car crash. This leads to his feeling constant pangs of guilt from his sister-in-law Martha Douglas ( Diane Ladd), who has become his assistant. One night, Holliston runs over a pregnant

Doberman Pinscher The Dobermann (; ), or Doberman Pinscher in the United States and Canada, is a medium-large breed of domestic dog that was originally developed around 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector from Germany.human placental lactogen Human placental lactogen (hPL), also called human chorionic somatomammotropin (HCS), is a polypeptide placental hormone, the human form of placental lactogen (chorionic somatomammotropin). Its structure and function are similar to those of human ...

, which speeds up the embryo's growth. The dog grows to adult size in a few days, and Holliston passes it off as the mother to disguise his secret experiments. Thanks to the serum, it learns incredibly fast and soon becomes a well-trained dog. However, Holliston fails to notice that the animal's aggression is increasing commensurately: while he is out on an errand, it kills an annoying small dog and conceals the carcass. Eager to use his discovery for the good of mankind, Holliston applies the same technique to an unborn human extracted from a suicide victim. However, the subject's cells age uncontrollably, so Holliston uses the drug methotrexate to counter the effect. It works, and the embryo grows into an 22 year-old woman he names Victoria ( Barbara Carrera). Holliston educates Victoria, and she soon gathers photographic encyclopedic knowledge of science, literature and culture. He begins introducing her to his friends and coworkers as a

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

graduate, and she wows them with a riveting game of chess against chess champion Riley (

), infuriating him when she deliberately lets him win the final move at Holliston's subtle urging. Holliston completes Victoria's education by engaging in sex with her at her encouragement. Soon afterwards, Victoria discovers the rapid aging of her cells has resumed and becomes addicted to the methotrexate to stave off her deterioration. Thanks to a chance meeting with the manager of Teletex International computer systems at a party, Victoria is able to access the most advanced computer system in the state which informs her that she can counter the aging with

pituitary gland In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The ...

extract from a 5 to 6 month old human fetus. In addition, Martha has grown jealous of Victoria's success, and finds out the University of Colorado has never heard of her. Before she leaves for

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Victoria decides to poison Martha with methotrexate in order to keep her origin secret. Shortly after Martha's departure, Holliston is informed of her fatal heart attack. Holliston leaves to meet with Martha's coroner. Meanwhile, Victoria destroys all of Holliston's research records and tapes concerning his experiments. Victoria murders a prostitute to get her unborn child. However, the records indicated the child was already dead in the womb and unviable for her needs. When the autopsy reveals that Martha's death may have been a homicide, Holliston hurries home and alerts his son Gordon to meet him there to go after Victoria. He finds Victoria, now middle-aged, having surgically removed his daughter-in-law Helen's baby. When he attempts to capture her she stabs and kills Gordon, sending the gestating tank containing the baby crashing to the floor. Now determined to kill Victoria, Holliston gets in a car chase after her. When a now-elderly Victoria crashes her car, Holliston pulls her out to finish her off, but paramedics intervene and discover the geriatric victim is in labor. As she is being carried away, she reveals that she is pregnant with his baby, causing Holliston to cry out for her death in despair. As the scene fades to black, the cry of a newborn child is heard.

Cast

References

AOL Video entry

External links

* * {{Ralph Nelson 1976 films 1976 horror films 1970s English-language films 1970s pregnancy films 1970s science fiction horror films American body horror films American pregnancy films American science fiction horror films Films about rapid human age change Films directed by Ralph Nelson Films scored by Gil Mellé 1970s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links