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Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a spacecraft. It’s pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the spacecraft. They can’t remember anything - who are they, what is their mission? The only way out of the chamber is a dark and narrow airshaft.
Corporal Bower, the younger of the two, crawls inside, while the other, Lt. Payton, stays behind for guidance on a radio transmitter. As Bower ventures deeper and deeper into the ship, he discovers that he and Payton are not alone. Slowly the spacecraft’s shocking and deadly secrets come unravelled, and the astronauts realize that the survival of mankind hinges on their actions.
Antibodies director Christian Alvart takes suspense into space with this tale of two astronauts who realize that they aren’t alone as they drift into the darkest corners of our galaxy. Awakening in their hyper-sleep chamber with no memory of who they are or what their mission is, disoriented astronauts Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid) and Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) gradually surmise that they are the only ones aboard the darkened spacecraft.
But how did they get here, and what are those strange sounds coming from the belly of the ship? The only way out of their hyper-sleep chamber is a narrow airshaft, and the only one small enough to climb through it is Corporal Bower. As the younger of the two space travelers shimmies inside, the older remains behind to offer guidance on the radio transmitter. But the deeper Corporal Bower ventures into the ship, the more apparent it becomes that something horrible has happened.
Could it be that the survival of the entire human race rests in the hands of these two astronauts stuck on a lonely ship in deep space? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
I’ve seen a few effective motion posters in my day, but none of them come close to delivering the sort of visceral excitement generated by the one currently making rounds for “Pandorum.” It’s loud, it’s graphic, and it perfectly sets the tone for Christian Alvart’s upcoming sci-fi scarefest. If you’re at work, you may want to turn down the volume at bit, lest your co-workers think you’re having a little too much fun in your office. The film is scheduled to bow Stateside on September 25th. |
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The horror genre has been having some nice support the past few years. We’ve had multiple remakes (or “reimaginings” if you’d prefer) and a whole slew of newcomers alike.
Sorority Row goes back to some of the old slasher films before it, dating back to mostly the early 1980s when a dominant female cast was pretty common, even if all they were good for in the film was to run around practically naked and screaming like a loon until meeting their ultimate demise.
The film doesn’t stray far from that classic formula.
The movie’s plot follows a group of friends all belonging to (dur!) the same sorority. What happens is that one night, an accident happens, and someone dies and it’s decided to leave it a mystery and cover up the truth. A year later, the bulk of the film takes place where, of course, the past returns to bite the guilty in the asses.
It’s pretty much a basic story in that sense. The characters aren’t really all that developed, and have rather one-dimensional personalities. There are some funny one-liners from time to time, I’ll admit, but there’s not much to the film that really shines through.
The deaths are a strange mix: some are interesting, others are either too boring or too quick.
And strangely enough, from a technical standpoint, the film mostly looks to be lit like a commercial, so it’s a strange approach to a horror film, but it almost works considering the age and social mindsets of the characters. Not that the film really has any deep messages. After all, slasher films are primarily about sex and violence; this film just happens to try a little too hard to sell itself on one aspect while not giving the other enough attention.
I don’t believe this film is going to be on anyone’s “must see” list. It’s not great, but it is entertaining so it’s good for a distraction if you have the time to kill.
One good note of the film, though, is that the final shot is the PERFECT set-up for continuation without being super “the killing will continue,” which I’m sure fans of the genre (or sub-genre, depending on how you look at it) will be thankful for. |
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I must say that I am very surprised at the apparent "disgust" that there seems to be for this film. Every revi ew that I have read seems to bash it for not being the original 1981 "Carpenter" Halloween II. I agree that this film was a HUGE change of pace for the characters, but then again... so was Zombie's first installation in this series. I thought both films were very refreshing and took the premise of the story to new and very interesting territories. I'm not going to get into the details of the film at all, as there have been a ton of reviews posted that pretty much sum up the overall scope of the film. A lot of what was included was a hodgepodge of personal opinion coming from individuals who went in to see this film with the notion that it was a "remake" of the original Halloween sequel.
It wasn't, at all, and no one should go and watch this film expecting such an outcome. This was Zombie's story... not John Carpenter's... not Debra Hill's... and if you are planning on watching the film at some point, or if you're going to write a review of this film, make sure you keep that in mind. Seriously, every review I have read here has the same biased opinion that "Oh it sucks because it is not identical to the original sequel nor does it follow the original premise of the Halloween series". This outlook is completely ridiculous! This is a fresh take on a story that had become very stale, i.e. the sorry excuse for a film that was Halloween Resurrection. I am a huge fan of the Halloween series, and Rob Zombie is the best thing that has happened to it since JC released the original film, hands down. The one plot point I will bring up is the presence of Sheri Moon Zombie in this film as Michael's mother's ghost, or a hallucination, or a vision, or whatever you want to call it. I have heard countless comparisons between this and the underlying premise of "Friday the 13th". All I can say is, I don't get it.
For one, Mrs. Voorhees was the original killer, and I don't really recall her being a vision that Jason had... at least not one that was as obvious as what was going on in this film. AND... Sheri really wasn't the driving force for Michael to kill in this film in my opinion. She was the catalyst to an extent, but not the main focus of what and why the events were transpiring. Laurie had visions of Sheri as well, and we didn't see her running around slashing and stomping peoples faces in... my point is that the correlation between these two films and a similar plot point is false, and is completely unsupported in my opinion. All in all, I thought the film was very solid. It was very obvious it was a Rob Zombie flick, and I think he did a wonderful job of bringing a new vision and outlook to what had become a weak franchise. In the end, if John Carpenter's 1981 "Halloween II" release is what you are expecting here, you might as well just go get the DVD and watch that, because that is not what Zombie is providing, nor should it be. But, if you want to see a fresh new take on a series that had become completely irrelevant, and enjoy a film that showcases wonderful and truly great production, then you might want to catch RZ's Halloween II. Sorry the review was so long! I even wanted to create custom lanyards of this movie and wear it to my office. |
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Top 5 Lucio Fulci Horror Films |
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5. The New York Ripper
4. City of the Living Dead
3. The House by the Cemetery
2. Zombie
1. The Beyond |
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kidnapping and horror. In spite of the fact that the lead character makes some strange choices that will have you yelling at the screen in frustration, HUSH is a good, entertaining, and brutal journey.