There are very few films that even try to meld the genres of science fiction and horror, let along do it well. The first and most successful example of this is Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), which takes the quintessential horror trope of being trapped in a house with a killer but exports it to deep space. Ripley and the fearsome creature hunt each other throughout the ship as every other character meets a gruesome end, a terror heightened by the fact that they are so far from home and unable to escape the claustrophobic ship. Similar in its attempts to take the serial killer into outer space is Danny Boyle’s Sunshine (2007), which despite being a box office bomb is very effective in creating sheer terror on the final frontier. It puts a small group of scientists set on reigniting the sun far beyond the reach of communications before throwing a variety of horrific scenarios at them, including a vengeful killer set on jeopardizing their mission.
Apollo 18 borrows from both of these movies as well as a few others, mainly the found-footage, low-budget shooting style of Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity. Yet despite all of these comparisons to other films, Apollo 18 does manage to be something utterly new and entertaining—not to mention chilling. The film contains footage supposedly captured by astronauts on the last manned mission to the moon in December of 1974. The mission was funded by the Department of Defense and kept an utter secret—until now, of course. The film’s tagline is reminiscent of something an older kid would taunt you with around a fire at summer camp before sending you to bed plagued with nightmares: “There’s a reason why we’re never gone back to the moon.”
That reason takes awhile to become apparent in Apollo 18, as the astronauts slowly discover that they are not as alone as they thought on the moon’s surface. I don’t want to give away much of the plotline in order to preserve the chills so artfully created by writer Brian Miller and director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego. Needless to say, Apollo 18 only runs for 87 minutes, but for all of them I was watching with anticipation and fear. The slow-burn reveal of the “big bad,” and the fact that even when revealed, it is still only seen through grainy 1970s-quality security camera footage, adds to the haunting quality of the film. This style of filmmaking gives Apollo 18 a far better pay-off than similarly plotted horror films, such as The Descent. Quick glimpses leave more to the imagination and allow the viewer to further torture themselves by thinking about what they aren’t seeing. This is far more terrifying than any huge, detailed reveal. It is Miller’s first feature and Lopez-Gallego’s first in English; with their knack for storytelling, I look forward to seeing what projects they take on next.
The cinematography is, as I already said, rather grainy and meant to be taken from security and in-helmet cameras. The “found footage” is in color but de-saturated to the point of being close to grayscale. This gives the scenes instead the claustrophobic spacecraft a tone nearly as eerie as the craggy landscape outside. The actors are all relatively unknown and very good in their roles. The washed-out coloring highlights the rugged planes of the trio of lead’s faces and makes their emotions all the easier to read. The stand out is definitely Lloyd Owen as Commander Nate Walker, whose gradual descent from American hero into…something else is rendered tragic and compelling. The special effects, whether it be practical makeup or the creation of lunar landscapes, are all great, though it’s worth noting that grainy camera footage can cover up a lot of technical weaknesses. No wonder it’s become the saving grace of budget-strapped film crews!
Apollo 18 is a remarkable achievement for a film with a budget of only five million (it went on to gross over 17 million after utilizing clever viral marketing tactics such as website lunartruth.com). It’s spooky as hell while also being a great sci-fi alternate history story. It might not be the most accurate as far as depicting the scientific intricacies of lunar travel, but when the story is this good, who really cares? Apollo 18 draws you in and then jolts you over and over, until you’re convinced that you’ll never look up at the night sky in the same way ever again.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
The Blue-ray combo pack includes both standard DVD and Blu-ray copies, as well as a digital version available for download. Lopez-Gallego and editor Patrick Lussier do a feature-length commentary track; there are also deleted scenes and alternate endings for those who want to keep dwelling on the twists and turns of the story long after the credits roll.
"Apollo 18" is on sale December 27, 2011 and is rated PG13. Horror, Sci-Fi. Directed by Gonzalo Lopez Gallego. Written by Brian Miller. Starring Ryan Robbins, Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen.
