GORE IN THE STORE
REVIEWS BY FANS FOR FANS
5 STAR FAB - 1 STAR RUBBISH

Pandorum (1)
Pandorum (2)
Open Graves
Paranormal Activity
Growth (1)
Growth (2)
Train
Antichrist
Wrong Turn 3
Coffin Rock
Orphan
Sorority Row
Drag Me to Hell
Staunton Hill
Summer Moon
Driftwood
Messengers 2

 

Directed by Christian Alvart. Starring Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, and Antje Traue. USA. Horror/Sci-Fi. 108 minutes.

Blu-ray and DVD release date 15th February 2010 - Blu-ray £14.99 and DVD £9.99 from Play.com.

Two astronauts come out of suspended animation on a flight to colonise a new world, as a replacement for the over-populated Earth.  Only their ship is shutting down and a tribe of blood-thirsty monsters are on the prowl. Can they fix the ship in time and without going insane in the process?

Bower (Foster) and Payton (an underused Quaid), wake from hypersleep aboard the space ship Elysium, bound for the Earth-like Tanis with a view to colonisation. However, they’re locked in, no-one else is around and the ship’s power is failing. They don’t know how they got there, or what has happened (CUBE (1997) anyone?). So Bower heads out into the ventilation system to look for a way to the bridge or the engine room. Out in the empty husk of the ship he finds only dead bodies, that is until he runs into a troop of flesh-eating beasties. The creatures look and sound like the Crawlers from THE DESCENT (2005), but are dressed like Neil Marshall reincarnated them in DOOMSDAY (2008). Chases and fights abound, a couple of good scares and occasional directorial flair (although mostly these look hammy) mildly entertain as Bower picks up a gang of strays on the way to the engine room. Disappointingly, possibly-interesting plot elements are hastily blurted out in rapid-fire breaks in the action, as we lurch towards the hackneyed ending – reminiscent of any other horror film in search of a twist.

Compared to other films which leave us in the dark for vast portions of their beginnings and middles, PANDORUM leaves you cold. Normally, when you don’t know what’s going on, you’re willing to suspend your irritation at being left out of the loop, and just enjoy the ride – see jaw-dropping, mind-bending TRIANGLE (2009). The trouble with this film is that the ride is not that enjoyable. Cheap-looking special effects, and a lack of truly futuristic touches, leave you bored – after a promising first 15 minutes. While the failure to explore plot-points which may have been interesting (why did the monsters evolve that way?) only add to the frustration. Alvart’s previous FrightFest offerings have been mixed – ANTIKÖRPER (2005) was utterly brilliant, whilst CASE 39 (2009) was disappointing Hollywood fare. Unfortunately, this film is not a return to form and leaves us wondering if ANTIKÖRPER was just a fluke.

There are a few of the usual extras included: e.g. deleted and alternate scenes and a producer’s/director’s commentary; these offer the expected insight. Slightly more interesting is the behind the scenes video and the picture galleries, which include storyboard drawing, set models etc.

Denise Morrisroe & David G Bennett.

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