Thursday, February 24, 2011

Apollo 18 Trailer Analysis.

To start things off, I want to direct you to the trailer so if you haven't seen it you can and understand what I'm about to talk about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA2pPv4T2YE

Now that you have...

Holy shit does this film look awesome!

Some might see it as a very cheap looking film, but you shouldn't be threatened by this because the film is utilizing the "found footage" style that has been popularized by The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. What makes it different is that this is found footage from the 70's, thus the quality is that of typical documentary footage people see of the Apollo missions. Which is a good thing in my opinion. The fact that the filmmakers are aiming for a realistic look when it comes to the set and the footage itself is a very good sign.

So, to start things off, I'd like to take a look at the two people who we will be sharing the cramped conditions of the lunar lander for the duration of the film. In an earlier overview of the film I did last year I had said that there were two possibilities as to whom we'd be watching A. The members of the original crew slated to be on Apollo 18 before it was cancelled and B. A secret crew we didn't know about. Considering the fact that this movie is being called a "conspiracy thriller" in some sites, it seems like B is the more likely scenario. This is proven by the fact that in the trailer one of the astronaughts is named "Banes" or "Haines" I think it's Baines. And since there was no Baines on the official list for the mission in real life it's now a certainty that this is a secret crew. Baines is the poor soul who we see get infected by the alien pathogen in the trailer. The other astronaught isn't named in the trailer. These two astronaughts seem to be your run of the mill horror movie protagonists. As to whether or not we will care about them is still up in the air. But what they find on the moon might just be more interesting.

Skipping ahead to the segments of the trailer where we see what looks like a camera being dragged off into the shadows on the surface of the moon and the instance where our heroes find footprints moving AWAY from their landing site are all hints that something otherworldly is going on. It's obvious the creature stalking them is an alien, it's even shown in the trailer crawling around in Baine's helmet before it infects him. However, what is more interesting is what they also find along with alien monsters.

Footage from the trailer hints that there were other people on the moon before Apollo 18. We see one of our heroes pick up a broken helmet buried in the lunar soil along with some bodies. Who are they? Judging by the lander that is shown near the end of the trailer I'd say it was a Russian team of cosmonaughts who went to the moon before the start of the film. What were they doing before they were killed by the alien is yet to be known, however this twist (even though it's spoiled in the trailer) is rather interesting.

From a critic's standpoint I am still ambivalent as to whether I should be excited for this film. It does look like "Paranormal Activity: In Space!" However, it doesn't mean it's going to be bad. The sci-fi horror fan in me is hoping for something atkin to Alien meets Paranormal Activity. The cramped feeling of the lunar lander interior definitely gives viewers a sense of claustrophobia as they are crammed in with our heroes. Plus it looks like Baines goes nuts halfway through the film and tries to commit suicide by breaking the lunar lander's windows, killing our unknown astronaught as well. Interesting stuff, with the potential to get truly suspenseful the longer they're on the moon.

So here's what I expect this movie's going to seem like:
Act 1: Shows our three astronaughts (Baines, the Lunar Module Co-Pilot, and the Command Module Pilot) on their way to the moon where we are treated to some character development to make us care. They land on the moon and do some routine procedures and take some footage.

Act 2 is when things start to turn south. Strange things creeping about the lander and split second shots of stuff roaming around the motion activated cameras. They discover the remains of the Russian team. The alien knocks out their communications with the command module and thus the rest of the world. Bains gets infected by an alien and begins to go insane.

Act 3 has our unknown astronaught being forced to either incapacitate or kill Bains in self defense but not before he damages the lunar module irreparably. The last astronaught is forced to use the Russian lander to call for help and possibly find a way to get back to the CM. However the alien gets to him before he is able to get to the lander.

Whether or not it will be like this is up in the air. We can only hope it will be a terrifying "alien-esque" like film with some good moments of intense suspense.

Until then, keep a watchful eye on this one. It could be worth watching

1 comment:

  1. Amazing how this real footage looks exactly like every other "amateur"-filmed, with the exact-same style of shitty acting.still looks like a good movie to see. I cant waiting this movie coming April. Watch Movies Online Free

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