The Dark Lurking (2009)

 

Don't be fooled by this film's alternate title of 'Alien vs Zombies' as this doesn't happen. Not even close. Do we get zombies? Sort of. Do we get aliens? No, even if some designs point in that direction. But in a bizarre way, this Ozploitation film might be the closest anyone has ever come to a 'Doom'-film that actually feels like a 'Doom'-film. 

Stay with me a sec. 

We get right into the action, as down on some research base on an unnamed planet (which looks a lot like Mars, actually) things go haywire and the doodoo has hit the fan. Into all of this mayhem awakens Lena, a young woman who has no idea what's going on, and is about to be shot by two soldiers before creatures kill the soldiers right then and there. She then comes across a small band of survivors who are blasting and running and crawling through vents in order to stay alive. 

Just a head's up: everyone in this party is unlikable or irritating, except for Lena. This does not help the film along at all. Also: no one can actually act, not even if their lives depended on it. 

So Lena sometimes has seizures of sorts and of course they come across a scientist who knows what the hell is going on. But before the big reveal, they need to reset some circuit breakers in a scene that is downright stolen from 'Jurassic Park'. Remember the part where Muldoon and Ellie have to traipse across some jungle but they know they are being hunted by velociraptors? Well, this is that scene, only with some strange creature that sort of looks like a weird xenomorph, but more like a man in a very uncomfortable rubber suit. 

So more stuff happens, people that seemingly die, turn into creatures or zombies themselves and then all is revealed in what is honestly a fun plot twist: Lena was cloned from the remains of the original fallen angel Lucifer and her blood and saliva make people turn into horrid abominations. 

Sure, it's a silly twist, but in a weird way it works. Oh, and right at the end, when literally everyone is dead, Lena comes back all fire and brimstone to lay her vengeance upon thee. 

Well, she gets back up with blackened eyes, rips a soldier's guts out and then heads to the ship right before they nuke the site from orbit. 

'The Dark Lurking' steals a lot from the 'Alien'-franchise and especially 'Aliens'. This is quite clear. They even named a character Yutani. Throw in equal helpings of zombie films and the aforementioned 'Jurassic Park'-bit and you get quite a mix. They do try their best with the obviously limited budget and though many of the sets are used over and over again in an attempt to create a sizeable base, it sort of works. 

A bit too many vents, though. 

But the acting is absolutely awful, from everyone. The bitchy woman is a real pain and you'll be glad to see her die off first. There's also a man who is constantly whining, his death is also worthy of a sigh of relief. In fact, all actors are painfully horrid, as they give awkward and stilted performances and say their lines with almost no emotion whatsoever. Well, it's either that, or a single emotion repeated in loop. 

But still, with a bigger budget and better actors, this could have been the 'Doom'-film every fan of that franchise wanted and still wants. Because bizarrely, if you try and see it in that respect, most of this stuff just makes sense and actually works. They just needed a better cast and maybe a more competent director. So in the end, this is still a failure that may be a good time with friends and copious amounts of alcohol, but for the vast majority of viewers, this won't even register. View at your own discretion.