Almost works

At times, genuinely unsettling, this realistically told, Cronenberg like scifi/horror tale is so relentlessly grim its hard to connect with what's going on. Beyond the genetically engineered cow fetuses gone wrong, I was not clear about certain story points which may have more to do with me than the film, but nonetheless added confusion when the story demanded clarity. Despite it all, director O'Brian is someone to watch. Besides having a good eye for dramatic detail and composition, he knows that good characters in conflict will better create the kind of suspense most horror movies lack. ISOLATION, though, remains too minimalist for too long to really work.