Retro Film Review: Mr. Stitch (1995)

Few film experiences are as depressing and disheartening as those created by films that start with big promise and end with even greater disappointment. One such film is Mr. Stitch, a 1995 science fiction thriller written and directed by Roger Avary.

The plot starts in a secret laboratory when a strange-looking creature (played by Wil Wheaton) wants to find out who or what he is. The answer is provided by Dr. Rue Wakerman (played by Rutger Hauer), the head of the project. The creature, called Subject 03, is a man artificially assembled from organs and tissue belonging to 88 different donors, while his memories are artificial data bank implants. Subject 03 is slightly stronger than the average human, but he is more interested in mental than physical exercises and spends all his time trying to learn about the world. After a while, Subject 03, who has renamed himself Lazarus, begins to suffer from nightmares. After an encounter with psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth English (played by Nia Peeples), he realises that he has inherited some of the donors' memories. When Dr. English is removed from the project, Lazarus escapes from the laboratory and discovers the real purpose behind his creation.

Mr. Stitch starts as a very unusual film. The plot is set in a surrealistic white room, while a huge emphasis is given to various ethical and philosophical discussions - something not so common in science fiction films. Roger Avary, a former partner of Quentin Tarantino, obviously tried to use meagre financial resources to create a modern yet more cerebral version of Frankenstein. In the first part of the film, he succeeds in that - the film is surreal despite the lack of special effects, while Wil Wheaton and Rutger Hauer deliver some powerful acting accompanied by Tomadandy's atmospheric music. Unfortunately, the whole concept begins to fall apart in the second part. The protagonist's encounter with the outside world reveals the film's low budget, and Avary seems to give up trying to maintain a serious tone. The plot degenerates into a series of annoying clichés, but few would expect the badness embodied in the jingoistic US general, played by Michael Harris. His uniform, which would look ridiculous even in the 19th century, destroys any illusion of Mr. Stitch being anything other than a self-parody. Unfortunately, by that time, most viewers would feel too disappointed to laugh, and those who based their expectations on Avary's reputation would feel cheated.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on June 24th 2004)

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