Gene-X

Anyone who has ever nodded off with terminal tedium over a medical novel from the likes of Robin Cook will respond to this genially sarcastic take on the cliché tale of young-medical-researcher-who-goes-too-far. Director Simpson - also, like George "Mad Mad" Miller, an MD -has read every one of these tedious tomes, not to mention seeing the films adapted from them, eg, COMA, LOOKER, and comes to the director's chair fully armed with the scalpel to dissect them. Addressing tropes familiar to readers of contemporary sf novels like Greg Bear's BLOOD MUSIC, he explores them with the same gleeful imagination that Peter Jackson brought to his pre-LORD OF THE RINGS films like BAD TASTE. Viewers savvy enough to tune into Simpson's wavelength will find GENE-X a diverting experience.