Glasgow Film Festival 2025: ‘In Vitro’ Review

Stars: Ashley Zuckerman, Talia Zucker, Will Howarth | Written by Will Howarth, Tom McKeith, Talia Zucker | Directed by Will Howarth, Tom McKeith

In Vitro opens with some quiet, but effective, world-building. Jack (Ashley Zuckerman) and Layla (Talia Zucker – also pulling double duty as co-writer), are a married couple of bovine farmers in a near future, but very recognisable world: a snippet of radio, tells us about the struggles of farming and agriculture, in the face of climate challenges. A newspaper cutting sees Jack, at the forefront of new breeding technology. The vistas of muted Australian farmlands, accompanied by a haunting, ethereal score imply the hardships of working the land. And then alarms start going off in the barn…

The farms difficulties are evident in the fraught relationship of Jack and Layla – their exchanges are hollow, distant – the long hours and the absence of their only son weighs heavy in their reluctant exchanges. Both actors ably convey the challenges of “this life” – Jack is a stern provider, clearly not wanting failure to be associated with his family business. Layla is tired of the grind, tired of pretending that she doesn’t miss the warmth of family life. And then alarms start going off in the barn…

Jack and Layla are using new technology to “breed” cattle in tanks. A nary mentioned tech conglomerate has developed technology that essentially prints a new version of an ideal, healthy specimen, that ensures top quality cow, time, after time, clone, after clone. But what about those alarms…?

To delve deeper, into In Vitro, would be unfair to the future viewer. Jack is experimenting with something “new”, in the barn. The tank-reared cattle are failing, and the ready supply of meat is having internal organ failures and is being put down at an alarming rate, Layla is hearing noises and noticing displaced items across the property. The incoming storms get louder and more abrasive, as a sense of dread is well-built by our directing team. Brady (played by co-writer, Will Howarth), a mysterious new farmhand is introduced who may or may not, know what’s going on. The dog, the cows, and now Jack, are acting strangely…

In Vitro, skilfully handles a small, sensitive relationship about love, loss and connection, whilst simultaneously building an atmosphere of foreboding and dread. Big questions about technology and its use, and overuse, in natural breeding and farming processes; about the ethics and treatment of “bred” livestock; and the very real damage that misuse of science, in the name of success, can cause.

You may expect the mad doctor tropes, the mutations of Frankenscience-gone-wrong. And then the first act reaches its apex, and things start to “evolve.”

Subtle, nuanced performances, from a small and talented cast, beautifully shot through a washed-out lens, and a script that doesn’t have a wasted breath. This is a serious-minded sci-fi drama, that asks, “Does a sick and desperate world create sick people, or do sick people create a sick and desperate world?”

The final act twists its thematic knife even deeper and fails to settle for the more traditional, stalk and slash “chase” scene. Ultimately shocking, bleak and thought-provoking, even In Vitro’s final scenes of “hope” lend themselves to the dark hearts, minds and desires of humankind.

Seek this out. Highly recommended.

• Watch this if…. You want serious science fiction drama, with a true sense of the horrific. This shares its DNA with 2020’s Invisible Man (Dir. Leigh Whannell) – science and personal relationships intertwined to create something horribly unique,
• Avoid this if…. You’re expecting an Aussie Night of the Living Dead (Cows)

In Vitro screened as part of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival and will be released on digital platforms later this year by Plaion Pictures.