Prosthetics and implants; the hunt for increased longevity and improved physical attributes carry a horrifying cost. Or so is the theme in a short documentary of the fictitious disease Metalosis Maligna. A bacterial infection around implants triggers a growth process within it, causing the implant’s steel to expand and branch-out with devastating effects to the host.

The documentary was created by Microbia, a team of Floris Kaayk and Sil van der Woerd, two young filmmakers studying in the Netherlands. The film is quite well executed and mimics typical BBC-type documentaries, providing a hint of realism for an unbelievable scenario.

I can quite vividly imagine a sci-fi feature film being based on this concept. We’d follow our protagonist in a from infection to death, and his dealing with this unsettling new 21st century disease (perhaps a nanobot cure gone out of control?). Maybe the boys of the Netherlands should try pitching it to Gondry after he finishes Master of Space and Time.

You can watch the Metalosis Maligna documentary embedded below, or see a somewhat higher resolution Quicktime version at Microbia.

Links and References

• Metalosis Maligna via who killed bambi?