Waking up alone from extended hyper-sleep, experiencing short-term memory loss, on-board a malfunction spaceship populated with a host of mutated, tribal type, hunter “beings” does not make for a good day. But this is the exact scenario Pandorum creates.
I had only seen a quick teaser tailer prior to watching, so I didn’t have too many expectations for the movie, but few I had were wrong – I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The movie was advertised as a sci-fi, horror film, and even though it did have a few startling moments, it was more suspenseful and physiologically scary than than anything else. Pandorum plays heavily on the fear of claustrophobia, and for someone like me who has trouble with confined spaces, this only adds to the movie’s intensity.
The plot is very reminiscent of a would-be love child between Event Horizon and Unbreakable, but unlike those movies, this had a ending twist that I didn’t see coming. Better still, it was a twist that actually made sense and served to move the plot along; and wasn’t just created as something seemingly “tacked on” for the shock and awe effect.
The movie does suffer from a few of the horror genera cliches, and if it wasn’t for acting capabilities of the lead roles, it could have come across as cheesy or hokey. Dennis Quad, as usual, gives an incredible performance; but I was equally impressed with Ben Foster as Corporal Bower.
I’d give Pandorum a solid 8/10.
February 4, 2010
Media