Pandorum (DVD)

Pandorum is ultimately a beautifully choreographed game of cat-and-mouse between human and monster around an enormous, abandoned space-ship. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd say that it's probably an adaptation of some kind of best-selling video game... But it's not. The best thing about Pandorum is that it's totally unique.

What begins with two characters awaking from cryogenic chambers, having completely lost their memories, soon turns into something I can only describe as a brilliantly tense cross between Neil Marshall's classic The Descent and Frank Vestiel's more recent Eden Log.

The reason I only half-heartedly tagged along to see Pandorum was due to the fact that the trailer boasts 'From the Producers of Resident Evil'... But there's nothing to worry about. Pandorum is quite a lot better than all the Resident Evil films put together.

Director Christian Alvart not only appears to be a master in tension-building, but has a fabulously witty sense of humor. Those tied up within the film's complex plot strings probably won't notice this, but there are definitely some sly jokes mixed in with all the scares.

To tie everything up, there's some very good acting on show here. There's the annoyingly underrated André Hennicke, plus everybody loves a bit of Dennis Quaid. Furthermore, with a great few twists waiting for you within the final 10 minutes, Pandorum is a complete winner.

Okay, so it's not the next Alien, but it's certainly a very good evening at the cinema.

Pandorum is a science fiction horror set in space. Two crew members aboard the colonisation ship Elysium awake from statis to find themselves locked in their room and no one responding. Pandorum follows events as they find out that something else is aboard the ship with them.

On seeing this movie I was left with goosebumps, It scared me, intrigued me and left me in awe. I would encourage you to see this movie without reading to much into it and be surprised by it's twists, turns and breathtaking pace.

The Set design is a work of art with clearly a lot of thought gone into every item from shaving to weaponry.
The script is perfectly acted and casting is spot on with every character enhancing the feel of the movie.

Initially the film feels a little like aliens or event horizon, dark and lonely however as the film progresses it does lose a touch of this feeling of utter isolation and hopelessness as it moves faster.

I must admit the film does become a little confusing at the end however this is short lived and doesn't distract from the movie.

Summary: A great movie that will please the majority of film goer's. This film never lets up and leaves you talking about it.

Note: Don't listen to the 'expert' reviews that put this film down, whilst some of their points are valid (ie the fact it can be a little confusing in places) the movie is an enjoyable and worthwhile watch. One I'm sure you'd recommend.

Survival horror games only have a few people actually trying to survive in them, and you usually end up alone for long periods to face the nightmares in the dark.
I like that alot and was very surprised that this movie did do that to a degree. It's intelligent, scary and dark. I like to follow the lead character and learn about things as he learns about his situation. I hate obvious markers in format horror movies, leaving you able to predict every damn thing in it!
This movie is nothing like that. A top class Sci fi horror not dwelling entirely on the big movie star they conned into being in it at all.
On me shelf and I give it 10/10 for being original and truly scary. How refreshing.

Pandorum is a resoundingly average experience. Average acting. Average direction. Average story. Average sets and costumes. Average music. Now that I've annoyed with the repeated use of the word average I'll get down to the specifics.

This is a very dark movie, there isn't much light at all so much of the action is easily missed. The sound is also fairly terrible with half the talking done in whispers making things hard to hear, not just because it's quiet but also because it has that awful monotonous hiss that whispering carries which slightly obscures the words. The other half of the talking is mostly shouting, all accompanied by a distant metalic echo which, while apropriate to the setting, helps to build a slow but certain headache.

The story is straight forward and the twist is unsurprising. The ending is hugely disapointing and, though a theory is put forth, no actual full explanation is offered for the plot. There is no real sense of horror or suspense, even watching this alone at night with the lights off it couldn't make me jump.

But though it misses the mark as a horror and a thriller it is a fairly entertaining sci-fi and quite pleasantly kills a couple of hours, though the DVD has no menu and there are no subtitles when characters are not speaking English.

I loved everything about this movie and I think you will too.


For me this to date is the film of 2009. It is a science fiction film that ticks all of the boxes, great action scenes, a wonderful script, the acting is brilliant on all levels, the sets are totally convincing, the lighting adding shades of darkness and light to the well developed tension throughout. Plus there are gut churning fighting sequences and the plot twists and turns to keep you totally gripped right up to the very satisfying ending.

I would draw some comparisons to the films alien and aliens, the entire thing feels so very claustrophobic even though the space craft which the story's setting seems to be the size of a small country. The acting is superb and the direction is top of its class too. I cannot recommend this film highly enough, it is a shame that most other films will now seem so small to me in comparison.

This will go down in time as a cult classic sci fi/horror!