Pandorum (Christian Alvart, 2009)

With: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue

Plot: A pair of crewmen (Quaid and Foster) wake up from suspended animation on an apparently abandoned spaceship, with no idea of who they are or what their mission is.

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I can see how some people, particularly those who don't like horror, would think this was absolutely terrible. The plot is pretty weak and the film's action is very repetitive, with overwrought editing and music. It's one of the more effective cinematic nightmares of this year though, with the claustrophobic visuals and garishly light and dark colour palette making for a viscerally unsettling experience. The monsters, when they appear are vague in appearance and move like a stop-motion animation on extreme fast forward. Basically a rubbish script but it's wonderfully terrifying and creates an uneasy nausea not through gore but an excellently sustained atmosphere, and the ending really feels like a long-awaited release. I'm still not sure I'd classify it as a really good film, but it's a memorable experience.

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