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Pandorum
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Anchor Bay Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Andreas Petersen (17th January 2010). |
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The Film
 Every once in a while a movie completely slips through the cracks, and is released without anyone noticing, and just as soon as it was there, it is gone. Sometimes, this can be a good thing, as the movies can be complete crap. However sometimes, as is the case with "Pandorum," directed by Christian Alvert, a work of genius goes by and is seen by practically no one (The film grossed approximately $13,000,000). Thankfully with the home release, we are given the opportunity to redeem ourselves and see the film. It is my duty here to recommend "Pandorum" without pause. "Pandorum" isn’t for everyone, but for a fan of horror/sci-fi films such as "Alien" (1979) and "Event Horizon" (1997), I saw it as a work of art. The story opens with a man, Bower (Ben Foster), waking up in a tube. He panics, gets out, and begins to peel layers of dead skin off himself. The only thing he remembers is that he was in suspended animation, but he can’t remember why. He awakes in a pitch dark space ship surrounded by other sleeping bodies and a few pods that are empty. After a moment another tube opens, dropping out Payton (Dennis Quaid), Bower’s superior officer. The two try to find out why they are awake and the other 100,000 people aboard are asleep. They can’t get the door open to the bridge, so Bower goes off through the ventilation shafts to find a way in. As the plot moves along, Bower finds other passengers who are awake, but they seem to be crazy. We discover that this is because there is something on the ship killing anyone who wakes up. I would divulge more, but the surprise was so nice for me, I wouldn’t want to cheat you out of it. I’ll just say the John Carpenter fan deep inside of me got all sorts of giddy. The thing I appreciate the most about "Pandorum" is just how complete and well made the movie felt. Every facet of the production felt legit, the plot has some twists that I didn’t see coming, and it’s also incredibly creepy. "Pandorum" is host to some of the most impressive sets I have seen in years. In the day and age where this sort of movie would be filmed in front of a green screen, the people behind "Pandorum" revived the lost art of impressive set design. They really built it, and the actors are really there. The same sentiment is extended to the monsters of the film, that are done practically, and instead of being computer generated, are created with amazing prosthetics and neat camera tricks. If I had to complain about the film, it would be about two casting choices made. Dennis Quaid, in my opinion, really didn’t fit into this film. He performance is slightly forced, but perhaps it just pales in comparison to the always fantastic Foster. I feel like Quaid was trying to do something for the character with the way he was acting, but he just comes off stiff. Also, Quaid’s character comes in contact with a disheveled crew member played by Cam Gigandet, who is at times laughably bad. Thankfully, the scenes with these two bouncing off each other are short. Other than that I have nearly nothing to complain about with "Pandorum." This is a true send up to films such as "Alien" (1979), "Alien³" (1992), and "Event Horizon" (1997). If you liked any of those, you’ll find something, or maybe everything, to like about "Pandorum." This is one smart movie that doesn’t patronize the audience, giving obvious answers to safe questions. You won’t get all the answers, and the ones you do are concise and to the point. If you’re looking for something out of the mainstream, I recommend "Pandorum" in spades.
Video
"Pandorum" is presented in an incredible 1080p 24/fps HD widescreen 2.35:1 transfer mastered in AVC MPEG-4 codec, and they completely nailed it. With space movies, especially ones that don’t have many computer generated effects, they tend to suffer from an obscene amounts of noise, grain, and an HD view into imperfection. However, I was astonished how clear and crisp the picture was, especially in the exterior shots of the ship done practically. There’s little to complain when it comes to the picture here, as the look and lighting are just as important as the plot in terms of the scares. The complete void of light hides what it wants to. I can only dream that when "Alien" (1979) is finally released on Blu-ray, it can look half this good. There were only a few moments where I noticed any granulation, and that was in flashback scenes taking place in extremely bright and white rooms.
Audio
"Pandorum" is offered in an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit, with an optional Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track. The HD track is superb, matching up to the great visuals. As a horror movie, the mood rests on the tiniest sounds, coming out from just the right places. This is the sort of movie you, as a horror fan, shell out big bucks for when getting a decent sound system. Also, the pounding score by Michl Britsch comes through great, never overpowering the moment, but laying the mood down perfectly. There were a few moments where I wasn’t sure what was said, but most of the time this was just Dennis Quaid being Dennis Quaid. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
"Pandorum" is coupled with a few extras in the way of a few featurettes, audio commentary, deleted and extended scenes, a still gallery, bonus trailers and a digital copy. This are explored further below: DISC ONE: First up is the feature-length audio commentary by director Christian Alvert and producer Jeremy Bolt. With the context of this film, I prepared myself for a possibly pretentious examination of a filmmaker’s own movie, but was happy to find that both Alvert and Bolt come off as people with a real passion for horror/sci-fi, but at the same time are able to spew a few on-set anecdotes. Easily worth a listen. Next is "The World of Elysium: Behind the Scenes" featurette, which runs for 13 minutes and 59 seconds. This acts as the disc’s main making-of, and does a decent job in this department. Here, cast and crew are interviewed as they talk about how the project came to be, what drew them to it, and what they tried to accomplish. One of the more candid moments includes Quaid admitting he wasn’t interested in the project at first because he though that horror/sci-fi was too easy to screw up, but loved the script that much. "What Happened to Nadia’s Team" featurette, which runs for 4 minutes and 30 seconds, acts as a sort of videoblog what when Nadia (Antje Traue) first woke up, in the same vein as "[Rec]" (2007) or "Cloverfield" (2008). This wasn’t very good, and came off as sloppy all around. The acting is terrible, and for some reason, Nadia picked up a European accent in her time from when she woke up and the events that take place in the main film. It all culminates to a terribly predictable end, and the price is sitting through cheesy dialogue that doesn’t really add anything to the already impressive movie. This film deserved better. "Flight Team Training Video" featurette, which runs for 2 minutes and 45 seconds, is a meta-video that acts as an introduction if you were someone serving aboard the ship in the film. Some of the information given here is sort of interesting, going into greater depth concerning Earth’s need to evacuate. However, in the last shot of the feature, there is something that, assuming this video was created before the events of the movie, makes absolutely no sense. I know that it is just a shot re-used from the main film, but it is pretty ridiculous. Included also is a large amount of deleted and extended scenes. For the most part, there is little wonder as to why these were cut, as most of the dialogue here is expositional, and if it were in the final film, I feel as thought it would have sucked away from the ambiguous nature that had me so engaged in the first part. There are a few gems here, especially in “They Are Breeding”, in which you get to see two of the monsters mating. It is really gross, but it could have added a bizarre sexual reading into the film, one that I feel was lacking. The scenes are: - "Bower Wakes Up," which runs for 1 minute and 34 seconds. - "Bower Opens Food Compartment," which runs for 1 minute and 20 seconds. - "Bower’s Report," which runs for 1 minute and 59 seconds. - "Bower and Payton Searching For a Way Out," which runs for 2 minutes and 59 seconds. - "Payton," which runs for 1 minute and 11 seconds. - "Bio Vault," which runs for 2 minutes and 13 seconds. - "Leland’s Tank Part 1," which runs for 2 minutes and 58 seconds. - "Leland’s Tank Part 3," which runs for 2 minutes and 22 seconds. - "Leland’s Tank Part 3, Version 2," which runs for 1 minute and 42 seconds. - "Bower and Leland," which runs for 3 minutes and 5 seconds. - "Payton and Gallo," which runs for 1 minute and 19 seconds. - "Bower Breakdown," which runs for 1 minute and 59 seconds. - "They are Breeding," which runs for 43 seconds. - "Bower and Nadia at the Reactor," which runs for 38 seconds. - "Waking Up in Hell," which runs for 26 seconds. - "Payton and Gallo 2," which runs for 1 minute and 6 seconds. The disc also features 4 still galleries for: - “Models & Monsters” includes 42 images. - “Designs & Drawings” includes 75 images. - “On-Set” includes 56 images. - “Turbine Pit Sequence Storyboards” includes 8 images. The film’s theatrical trailer is next and runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds. The disc also includes a few bonus trailers, and they are for: - "Men Who Stare at Goats" which runs for 2 minutes and 32 seconds. - "Law Abiding Citizen" which runs for 2 minutes and 32 seconds. - "Spartacus Blood and Sand" which runs for 1 minute and 47 seconds. DISC TWO: Lastly, the second disc of this set includes a digital copy of the film.
Overall
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