Vivarium (film)

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Vivarium
Vivarium film theatrical poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLorcan Finnegan
Screenplay byGarret Shanley
Story by
  • Garret Shanley
  • Lorcan Finnegan
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMacGregor
Edited byTony Cranstoun
Music byKristian Eidnes Andersen
Production
companies
Distributed byVertigo Releasing
Release date
  • 18 May 2019 (2019-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 27 March 2020 (2020-03-27) (Ireland)
Running time
97 minutes
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Box office$427,399[2]

Vivarium is a 2019 science fiction thriller film directed by Lorcan Finnegan, from a story by Finnegan and Garret Shanley. An international co-production between Ireland, Denmark and Belgium, it stars Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2019, and was released in Ireland on 27 March 2020 by Vertigo Releasing. The film follows a couple (Eisenberg and Poots) that is forced to care for a child while awaiting release from a seemingly perfect neighborhood.

Plot[]

The opening scene depicts the parasitic lifecycle of cuckoos, starting with a cuckoo depositing her egg in the nest of another bird. The cuckoo chick pushes the other baby birds out of the nest and, by the end, has grown noticeably larger than its surrogate mother, who continues feeding it.

Gemma, a primary school teacher, meets her boyfriend Tom, a handyman. They drive to meet with a real estate agent to enquire about buying a house. The agent, Martin, behaves oddly and both find him off-putting. Nonetheless, they follow him to a suburban development called Yonder, filled with identical houses. There, Martin shows them around house number 9. He asks if they have children, and when Gemma replies, "No, not yet", he mimics her reply perfectly. After looking around the garden, they reenter the house to find that Martin has vanished. They attempt to exit the development but repeatedly find themselves returned to number 9. In disbelief, they drive around the endless, identical streets until they run out of petrol.

They sleep in the house. The next morning, Tom climbs to the roof and sees rows of identical roofs stretching out to the horizon. They try to escape on foot, but consistently return to number 9. They eventually give up and find a box full of tasteless vacuum-packed food left in front of the house. In desperation, Tom sets fire to the house, and they sleep on the pavement. When they awake, another box has been left for them. This time it contains an infant, and the message, "Raise the child and be released." When the smoke clears, they see that fire has not damaged the house.

98 days later, the infant has grown to resemble a ten-year-old boy who, like Martin, mimics Tom and Gemma. Gemma prepares the tasteless food delivered to them. Gemma and Tom sit together in the garden with a pickaxe, waiting to attack whoever delivers and collects the food, but they see no one. Tom starts to dig a hole in the garden, thinking it may lead somewhere, and becomes withdrawn. In the living room, the Boy sits before the television, which shows bizarre, fractal-like patterns.

When Gemma begins to care for the creature, Tom locks it in their car, intending to starve it. However, Gemma takes pity on the creature and releases it. One day the Boy goes missing, and returns with a book full of strange symbols and images of humanoids with throat sacs. When Gemma asks him to mimic the person who gave him the book, he makes strange, rasping sounds and inflates his throat sacs.

Soon the Boy has matured to resemble a young adult. Tom and Gemma have grown fearful of him. Gemma prepares his meals, and she and Tom eat in their bedroom, which they have barricaded. Tom becomes sick, coughing and unable to wash himself. The Boy leaves during the day, and Gemma tries to follow him, but always finds herself back at number 9. Tom continues to dig, and he finds a body in a vacuum bag. The Boy locks Gemma and Tom out of the house. They sleep in the car. Tom grows sicker. When Gemma pleads with the Boy for medicine for Tom, he replies, "Maybe it's time he is released." When Tom dies in Gemma's arms, the Boy zips him into a vacuum bag and throws it into the deep hole Tom has dug.

After another night locked out, Gemma ambushes the Boy with the pickaxe but only manages to wound him. The creature hisses and crawls on all fours into a labyrinth under the pavement. Gemma follows it and crashes through the door into a red-tinted house, where another Boy sits watching television patterns while a different woman sobs at the kitchen table. Gemma sinks through the floor into a green bedroom where a couple are having sex and a different Boy watches and claps. Gemma is sucked through the wall and into a purple bathroom, where a man has committed suicide.

She lands back in number 9, weak and moaning. The Boy is cleaning the house. He carries her to a vacuum bag and explains that mothers die after raising their sons. She says she is not his mother, and dies as he zips her in.

The Boy buries her with Tom and fills the hole, which then disappears. After filling their car with gas, he drives back to the estate office, where an aged Martin lies dying in his chair. The Boy takes Martin's nametag, who then expires, having finished his lifecycle. The Boy puts Martin in a vacuum bag, folds it up, and puts it into a file drawer. He sits down in the chair and waits. When another couple walks in the door, the Boy stands.

Cast[]

Production[]

In May 2018, it was announced that Lorcan Finnegan would direct Vivarium from a story he co-wrote with Garret Shanley, and that Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots had joined the cast.[3] It was shot in locations in Belgium and Ireland before moving to Ardmore Studios, Wicklow, Ireland.[citation needed]

Release[]

Vivarium premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2019.[4][5] Shortly after, Saban Films and Vertigo Releasing acquired US and UK distribution rights, respectively.[6][7] It was released in the United States, UK and Ireland on 27 March 2020, with a limited theatrical release and video-on-demand release the same day.[8][9]

Reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, Vivarium has an approval rating of 72% based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 6.57/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Vivarium may confound almost as often as it intrigues, but this well-acted sci-fi/horror hybrid has interesting ideas—and explores them with style."[10] On Metacritic, the film has weighted average score of 64 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Vivarium". Cineuropa. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Vivarium (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2 May 2018). "'Vivarium': Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg Enter Sci-Fi Thriller; XYZ Selling – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Vivarium". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  5. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (22 April 2019). "Cannes Critics' Week unveils 2019 line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  6. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (11 July 2019). "Saban Films Acquires Sci-Fi Thriller 'Vivarium' With Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  7. ^ Clarke, Stewart (11 July 2019). "Saban Takes U.S. Rights to 'Vivarium' Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots". Variety. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. ^ Baxter, Joseph (18 February 2020). "Vivarium Trailer: Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg Star in Psychological Horror Film". Den of Geek. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Vertigo Releasing Announces the UK and Irish Release Date for 'Vivarium' on Digital 27th March 2020" (Press release). Vertigo Releasing. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020 – via Fetch Publicity.
  10. ^ "Vivarium (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Vivarium Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 May 2020.

External links[]

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