Pandorum (2009)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Christian Alvart

Writers (WGA):

Travis Milloy (screenplay)
Travis Milloy (story) ...

Release Date:

25 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't fear the end of the world. Fear what happens next.

Plot:

A pair of crew members aboard a spaceship wake up with no knowledge of their mission or their identities.

Plot Keywords:

Spaceship | Survival | Radio | Fish | Pit

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Payton
Ben Foster	...	Bower
Cam Gigandet	...	Gallo
Antje Traue	...	Nadia
Cung Le	...	Manh
Eddie Rouse	...	Leland
Norman Reedus	...	Shepard
André Hennicke	...	Hunter Leader
Friederike Kempter	...	Evalon
Niels-Bruno Schmidt	...	Insane Officer 'Eden'
Jonah Mohmand	...	Childhunter
Delphine Chuillot	...	Young Bower's Mother
Wotan Wilke Möhring	...	Young Bower's Father
Julian Rappe	...	Young Bower
Domenico D'Ambrosio	...	Wounded Officer 'Eden'

MPAA:

Rated R for strong horror violence and language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Vietnamese | German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45512) | Ireland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg Studios, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Christian Alvart] [mirror shot]When we see Bower (Ben Foster) "laser" shaving in the beginning, he is reflected by three mirrors, effectively showing him four times from all angles (as well as the shaving effect).

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the beginning of the movie they showed dust all over the gadgets in the control room. Spaceships are supposed to be sealed and hence no chance of that much dust gathering on the gadgets. However dust consists mostly of human skin. There are other passengers aboard ship, they have been in space for years, and there is ventilation, so the dust is reasonable.

Quotes:

Bower: What are you doing?
Leland: Nothing personal, guys. It's just "survival of the fittest"... Or maybe it's the brightest
[mumbles]
Leland: if you know what I'm saying.
Bower: You gassed us!
Leland: Oh yes! And I'm sorry, but I'm a little too old and too tired for the honorable way of hunting game.
Nadia: You better make sure I'm dead... oder ich reiss Dir Dein scheiss Herz raus du Wichser!
Leland: [stabs her]
Manh: [is yelling in Vietnamese]
Bower: You don't have to do this. We're on our way to save the ship.
[...]

Better than most critics say

I saw Pandorum last night and was somewhat impressed with the movie. After reading critics reviews, and how they trashed it, I was going in expecting less and was pleasantly surprised.

Pandorum borrows heavily from other sci-fi movies, but what movie doesn't nowadays. Taking a lot of ideas from Alien, a 1979 classic sci-fi movie, and borrowing the creatures from The Descent, another near classic movie from a few years ago, Pandorum was still impressive. The storyline wasn't completely original because it reminded me a lot of Event Horizon, but whereas Pandorum went more for a science level, Event Horizon was more supernatural. Most people trashed Event Horizon as well, but it was another movie I liked also, even though the ending of that movie was flawed. Of course I'm reviewing Pandorum, so I won't mention the former film anymore.

THe cast for the most part was rather good for a movie of this type. Ben Foster, and Dennis Quaid are the two most marketable names, but the other characters, outside of maybe the Cam Gigandet character, worked pretty good. My only real problem with Gigandet was that he overacted a bit, but otherwise everything was good.

The movie does claustrophobia well, and the entire movie had me jumping a lot. THere was tension, and for the most part the film was fast paced. I didn't find myself looking at my watch one time. THe visuals were decent, but the creatures should've been kept in the shadows more. Horror works best when the viewer uses his/her own imagination to visualize them.

Did I say horror. Well yeah because this is really a sci-fi horror film more along the lines of Alien as mentioned above. It doesn't match the classic status of that movie, but Pandorum is worth seeing for its psychological feel and how some people might act after being in space for so long. By the way, the movie does have a twist, which I will not spoil for anyone who wants to see it.

Note: THis is a film that may make most of its money on DVD, and will likely acquire somewhat of a cult status.