Pandorum

Yes, this movie is quite derivative. It’s a horror sci-fi space yarn that steals from Alien, Event Horizon and even The Descent. Still, those are good films to steal from, and performers like Dennis Quaid and a remarkably-reserved-for-him Ben Foster keep things interesting. They play two members of a space crew who awaken from a long hyper-sleep, unaware of where they are or what they are doing. As their memory slowly comes back, they make some nasty discoveries while fighting off strange alien creatures. There are some good scares, and I found the mystery effective. The film kept me on the line throughout it’s nearly two hour running time, and I liked how things played out. Quaid is very good as the commanding officer trying to unravel the mystery of his spaceflight, and the makeup guys did a nice job with the monsters. Much, much better than what I was expecting for a sci-fi flick dumped into the early autumn schedule.