Feature Film Review

Rating:

In Apollo 18, the history of NASA’s space race gets a re-write, as viewers get a healthy dose of recently uncovered top-secret footage culled from the agency’s archives documenting a classified mission. While this is a fairly original idea with enormous potential, the picture is doomed to fail immediately following its shaky launch. The onscreen action rushes straight to the moon, as three anxious astronauts strive to write their names in history. But they soon learn the horrible truth of their assignment when they discover a murderous life form among the cold, cratered wasteland.

Other than its promising premise, the movie is a disaffecting mash-up of prior cinematic landmarks. Its “found footage” concept dates back to the daring independent Blair Witch Project, and to more recent works such as Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. After a fairly authentic looking beginning, the faux cinematography quickly shows signs of heavy editing, and by the end looks more suited for a nightmarish music video than a supposed historical document. The soundtrack follows suit – growing from barely-there ambience to screeching cacophony. The actors deliver their poorly written dialogue with the mastery of playhouse amateurs, and the entire production sinks under the weight of a seeming contempt for its target audience. The picture simply cuts to the chase, skimping on the effort needed to create any real tension or sense of realism.

The following footage has not been altered or enhanced
...and kind of looks like garbage.

Comparisons to other films are numerous. From an obvious debt owed to Alien to elements pilfered from such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Event Horizon and even The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the picture falls short of finding its own identity. And despite such heavy lifting from across the spectrum of science-fiction and horror history, it is completely devoid of suspense or terror. The few half hearted attempts to shock the audience are so flaccid that at one point early on, a particular piece of scenery is even highlighted to draw viewer attention!

In the modern age of high tech laptop trickery, it has grown astoundingly simple to create a suitably adequate, feature-length film. As a new generation of budding show-biz hopefuls is armed with an ever-expanding arsenal of technological weaponry, any hack with the right software and a stolen idea can crank out what now passes for a motion picture without much effort. With even a shred of internet marketing know-how, it just may be possible to peddle off the finished product to an honest-to-god Hollywood distributor. And while advances in the tools of the trade may seem to level the playing field for passionate artists everywhere, the downside is alarmingly apparent whenever a failed project such as Apollo 18 somehow garners undeserved recognition – not to mention a nationwide summer release.

Walt is Senior Writer for www.featurefilmreview.com. Email comments to walter (at) featurefilmreview (dot) com.