The Sundance Film Festival is one of the most looked at up-and-coming movie gatherings - from Hollywood to the fan alike.  Although this year's crop of films was not one of its more boasted about lineups - it did give birth to a horror film or two that we may see on screens in 2006 - one of which is Subject Two, a film by Philip Chidel (Cardiac Pictures).   Subject Two puts a new slant on the old Frankenstein movie formula.  The following excerpt is from GW Hatchet's Will Courtney, who had a chance to see this modern tangeant of the classic "its alive!" mad-doctor premise...

In this version, a young medical student named Adam Schmidt (Christian Oliver) is brought to the secluded Rocky Mountain cabin of Dr. Franklin Vick (get it?), played by Dean Stapleton, who is quite possibly the best creepy actor you've never heard of. Vick offers him a chance to be part of something extraordinary - the chance to develop a way to raise the dead, which can be accomplished through a unique combination of "cold, technology and … such." Schmidt, who came to Vick directly after being browbeaten by his medical ethics professor, hesitantly agrees only to have Vick garrote him with a piano wire, proving that you don't need brains to get through medical school.

Stitching him back together and injecting him with a formula, Vick brings Schmidt back to life and continues using him as the subject of his experiment.

For Chidel's second picture (he also wrote and directed 1999's "Far From Bismarck," which also starred Stapleton), "Subject Two" shows surprising depth, building on subtexts and leaving the audience guessing.

While the script is not nearly as snappy as the work of, for example, Quentin Tarantino, it is enough to allow the viewers a little glimpse into the characters - though a sufficient background story seems to be lacking. Stapleton's performance is so good it's a wonder he doesn't get more work, and Oliver's portrayal of the undead Schmidt is only marred by the occasional, inexplicable flare-up of a German accent. The film leaves an open ending, throwing in at the last second a twist that describes the film's idea of justice. It isn't a film for the faint of heart, and it's hardly perfect, but all things considered, it's worth checking out.

Visit the official website for Subject Two, and view the trailer with Quicktime

For more on Sundance 2006 - visit their official website here