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Dead Space: Downfall
R1 - America - Anchor Bay Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jeremiah Chin (17th November 2008). |
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The Film
 Video Game franchises are rapidly expanding, in popularity, fan base, and more into different forms of media, though mostly film. Of course the films based on videogames that emerge are either notoriously terrible (often in very hilarious ways like “Super Mario Bros.” (1993) or “Doom” (2005)) or largely ignored. Though there are some great exceptions to the rule, such as Christophe Gans’ “Silent Hill” (2006) or “Final Fantasy VII Advent Children” (2005) where they take their material seriously and build on the engaging stories and worlds of the videogames they are rooted in. Though lately it has felt as if every videogame property that sells over a million copies gets a film deal, though whether or not it actually comes to fruition is another matter. Game Publisher EA took the franchising in a different direction in creating “Dead Space: Downfall” (2008) a direct-to-DVD animated prequel to their critically acclaimed videogame “Dead Space” (2008). The anime-styled film acts as a prequel to the game’s narrative, beginning with the arrival of the USG Ishimura at an unidentified alien world where a human colony has fallen apart, potentially due to an alien artifact called ‘the marker.’ Of course the Ishimura is also under orders to bring the marker back for further study, yet slowly the crew is driven insane by the mere presence of the marker, bringing religious tensions to a boil as some fanatically worship the marker while others see the danger that it brings. Head of Security Alissa Vincent (Nika Futterman) is tasked with trying to restore order on the ship and investigate the psychosis that seems to overtake some of the crew, however once the ‘necromorphs’ start taking over the ship and eating/mutating it’s inhabitants her investigation turns into a survival mission for her and her crew. For the most part, “Downfall” feels like it wants to be the “Aliens” (1986) to the videogame’s “Alien”(1979), focusing less on the survival/horror aspect of the game (though the game arguably is more action than survival) and instead turning to a roughneck style crew of hardassed soldiers trying to survive dozens of monstrous attackers. However unlike “Aliens,” “Downfall” isn’t nearly as engaging or interesting as the source material. Story-wise it’s a nice addition to “Dead Space” building up a little back story and including some scenes that appear within the video logs of the game itself, however they don’t really create the same sort of tension at all. From a straightforward action perspective, “Downfall” tries to accomplish a higher body count and more in depth action sequences, though it just doesn’t match up to the experience of the game though the narrative remains similar. The use of CG backgrounds that break form with the rest of the film’s style is distracting, at times it almost feels like the filmmakers reused in-game assets from the videogame rather than designing the “Dead Space” world in their own style. (Though it would have been interesting to see them design the entire film using the game’s engine and pre-existing art assets, but that’s a little off topic). The animation itself is nice but nothing outright remarkable or spectacular, about the quality one would expect from a direct-to-DVD prequel to a videogame, though now that I’ve said it that way probably a little higher than you would expect. The colors match the dark and gloomy tones and patterns of the game and the film, though come off as a little flat. Overall the quality feels rushed, almost as if Electronic Arts realized that they would have a monster hit of a game on their hands and hurried the prequel into production. There are some good action sequences and a moderately interesting plot (if you’ve played the game) in addition to a good cast of voice actors that do a fine job with mediocre material. As short as it is, it might be worth checking out for obsessive fans of the game, though I think it could have been better served as a part of a 2-disc special edition with the game.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, “Dead Space: Downfall” has a good transfer, the images of the animation come through clear with no real problems in grain or pixilation, though there are a few moments where the smoother lines in the animation become jagged.
Audio
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track comes through clearly and actually has a fairly good score for what the film is. The voice acting, music and sound effects all come through clearly, though at times there’s almost a disconnect between audio and action on screen. English and Spanish subtitles are also included.
Extras
“Dead Space: Downfall” comes with a few interesting extras including a deleted scene, trailers, an isolated soundtrack and photo gallery. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First is the isolated soundtrack, which runs 1 hour 15 minutes 52 seconds (the length of the film) and is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. It's an interesting feature for a direct-to-DVD prequel film, but a nice inclusion nonetheless as the soundtrack actually is not too shabby. The deleted scene “Graverobber” runs 4 minutes and 14 seconds, the scene is essentially a conglomeration of storyboards put together into a rough animatic depicting a huge monster attacking Alissa during her confrontation with one of the crewmembers who has become necromorph faithful. The voice acting is added in, another nice feature for the set. “The Art of Dead Space" photo gallery includes 100 stills, mostly conceptual art with each artist’s name labeled underneath the art. The art mostly applies to the videogame as well, a cool look at the development at the style of characters, suits, that emerged in the game and then in this prequel. The trailer for “Dead Space: Downfall” runs for 1 minute 56 seconds. There are also some bonus trailers on the disc as well: - “Dead Space” runs 1 minute 27 seconds. - “Brutal Massacre” runs 2 minutes 5 seconds. - “Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer” runs 2 minutes 25 seconds. - “Laid to Rest” runs 1 minute 35 seconds. - “Karas: The Revelation” runs 1 minute 27 seconds.
Overall
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