Spaced out horror (Posted 10/1/2009 09:46 am)
One of the scariest movies I have ever seen is Event Horizon, a horror film which takes place on a spaceship where strange things begin happening and crew members are slowly killed off in horrific ways.

The new film, Pandorum, revisits the outer corners of our universe to terrify audiences and, while it is no Event Horizon, it turns out to be a nice little horror movie.

Two crew members wake up on a spaceship and can’t remember their mission or how long they have been asleep. The two quickly realize there is something wrong with the ship and they are not alone.

Strange creatures have flooded the ship and are hunting anyone alive to kill and feed.

Bower (Ben Foster) and Payton (Dennis Quaid) begin to search the ship for their crewmates as well as the ship’s reactor to restore its power and complete their mission.

Both crew members are also worried they may suffer from a version of deep-space psychosis known as Pandorum, and must fight to hold onto their minds and their lives.

The film starts with a bang and builds tension, setting a tone for the entire film. With a quiet soundtrack and only the light of Bower’s flashlight to illuminate the screen, the suspense is thick and makes for a fun movie-going experience for anyone who enjoys horror films.

Foster is a great actor and brings a lot to the table in any role he takes on, and Pandorum once again proves he can bring superb acting ability to a movie which doesn’t require it, but is enhanced by it.

The film itself is not the best horror movie I have seen, but it is a good horror movie. It is hard to find good horror movies because it is easy to go too campy or try to scare the audience too much with “boo” moments. Pandorum finds a nice balance of scaring the audience with a few well placed “boo” moments, but for the most part leaves the audience to scare itself by thinking of what could happen in the dark corners of space.

Any horror film that can scare you and make you scare yourself has done its job well. It is a must-see for horror fans or anyone who can appreciate a good scare.
Thank you to Premiere Cinema for allowing Luke Harris to screen this film.