Pandorum (2009)

***AVAST! THAR BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW***

One day we'll all face the fact that the science fiction survival horror film is a dead horse. The genre's flagship (Alien) is arguably still its very best film, and hundreds of would be successors continue to ape it and fail (some moreso than others). But until that day, we're going to keep seeing this genre exploited, as directors try and alter the formula with different stories.

Pandorum is one such attempt, a film with some strengths that ultimately do not save its skin from mediocrity. For one, Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster are both good actors, and they're supported by a decent cast that includes Cam Gigandet, Eddie Rouse, Cung Le and Antje Traue. Though Pandorum does have its own 'aliens' (in this case, a strain of mutants evolved to live in a spaceship...rather barbarically), this is primarily a psychological survival horror film in the tradition of the tragic Event Horizon or the shoddy Supernova.

Bower (Foster) and then Lt. Peyton (Quaid) awaken aboard a Noah's Ark of biological specimens, with very limited memories. Bower begins to explore the vessel while Peyton tries to re-establish contact with the rest of the ship. En route, Bower encounters a handful of survivors and slowly begins to realize the hideous truth of what is happening on the ship. Peyton is visited by Corporal Gallo (Gigandet) who also begins to stir some exposition. There are a few twists and turns, space mutants, and a poetic ships' cook who scratches further exposition into some freakish drawings on the steel walls of the Elysium II. Then there's a happy ending (and a little happier than you'd think).

The sound mixing is the highlight of the film. At its most tranquil, you are treated with mere ambience, but this is a troubled space vessel, full of groaning and churning sounds, and horrific swells of orchestrated noise. They've done an excellent job of keeping you on edge throughout the entire film, and it is this factor which makes Pandorum watchable, if mediocre. The design of the ship is pretty cool, as are the mutants, though these will not seem novel to anyone who has played a first person shooter in the past 10 years (they could easily fit into a few dozen video game franchises). The acting is solid but not quite the focal point of the film. Some of the film's twists are surprising, others not so much (you can see one of them coming from the very start).

Pandorum is directed by the German Christian Alvart, a relative newcomer to the big screen, and it certainly pays heed to the lessons of its forebears (Alien, Event Horizon, etc). Moments of tension abound, and the film is edited well, despite several scenes of fighting involving the mutants which can grow hard to follow. The story itself isn't bad, though biological 'seed' ships or generational vessels are a common cliche of sci-fi. Some of the survivors are also quite cliche with the armbands, grime, dreadlocks, and leather-bound heroine we've seen so many times. In the end, it's the type of film I watched once because I'm a whore for the genre's roots, but I won't revisit it.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.pandorummovie.com/