I really enjoyed Apollo 18. The film is directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego (Open Grave) and written by Brian Miller, Apollo 18 is an admirable, lunar found footage movie that does well at keeping you on your toes.
It opens with a brief introduction to NASA and a home footage barbecue party including three astronauts, Ben Anderson (Warren Christie- This Means War), Nate Walker (Lloyd Owen- Miss Potter) and John Grey (Ryan Robbins- Passengers). These astronauts are preparing for the eighteenth Apollo mission that involves them placing spy equipment on the lunar surface to monitor the USSR. The whole project is top secret with the public believing further missions to the moon are cancelled due to budget cuts, and even the family of the travelers cannot know what’s going on.
John stays behind in the shuttle in orbit while Nate and Ben land their craft on the moon to explore and see what they can find. They discover much more than intended over the course of their time in which the department of defense denies any knowledge of.
A nasty, cleverly revealed monster redeems some of the monotony of the first half of the film and it does create a genuine scary atmosphere, making you understand the characters concern once it gets going.
Director Lopez-Gallego clearly has a knack with visuals in the way he displays the moon’s natural darkness with steep creepy crevasses. .
You get a real sense of isolation and claustrophobia with Apollo 18 and it helps you feel the characters panic at possibly being stranded on the moon with no way to contact anyone.
The acting although boring in the beginning is very well done and you dislike the powers that be and care for the astronauts.
The premise of this sci-fi found footage documentary is very intriguing and although slow at times, the tension does build and if you’re into sci-fi movies or found footage I’d definitely recommend Apollo 18.
WICKED RATING: 6/10
Title: Apollo 18
Director(s): Gonzalo López-Gallego
Writer(s): Brian Miller
Stars: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins
Year: 2011
Studio/ Production Co: Dimension Films, Bekmambetov Projects Ltd. (BPL), Apollo 18 Productions
Budget: $5,000,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 86mins
Sub-Genre: Found footage, Sci-fi, Thriller
