Pandorum (2009)

 

If you have a thing for space horror and want to have a look at a rather underrated yet forgotten film, then this might be the thing for you, as 'Pandorum' is actually quite decent. It just bombed massively in theatres, although something tells me mismatched advertising and lack of promotion could have played a big part.

But really: it is better than you might think.

In the future, Earth has become uninhabitable and a massive ship called Elysium is sent out towards a newly discovered planet that has almost the same conditions as Earth. On board is a very large number of passengers in stasis, as the trip takes quite a while. 

One day, Bower (one of the ship's crew) wakes up and discovers that something has gone amiss. He has some memory loss from the long hypersleep, but he is determined to figure out why the ship is malfunctioning and why most of it seems so derelict. Together with lieutenant Payton he wants to make sense of it all. 

It soon transpires that strange things are afoot, as bizarre humanoid creatures roam the ship, hunting for anything and everything they can find. This only makes Bower's trip to try and restart the ship's reactor (because naturally it is failing) more dangerous and along the way, he will discover what exactly happened to the ship...

Oh, and the title refers to a mental affliction that some people get in space. In short, they go completely cuckoo paranoid. 

The set-up might feel familiar, as 'ship in trouble plus creatures equals adventure' and while that is absolutely true, there are some twists and turns along the way that keep it all engaging enough. A lot of the enjoyment here is thanks to the performance of Ben Foster, who does a pretty bang up job of playing Bower. Dennis Quaid is always wonderful, but he is not the focal point. But I assume the makers needed a big name at the time and Quaid was probably affordable. Most of the other actors are a hodgepodge of European and Asian actors, including martial artist Cung Le and a pre-massive breakout Norman Reedus, who's here for all of two minutes. 

But the creepy atmosphere and claustrophobic setting works to the film's advantage, and there are some genuine scenes of uneasiness and dread, completed with some gore for good measure. The film does lose a bit of its focus at times, but overall, this is one of those lesser known yet enjoyable romps in space. 

So if you don't know what to watch and science fiction + horror are your jam, give it a go.