Apollo 18

THIS POST CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.
 
Apollo 18 is frustrating. Extremely frustrating in fact. Gonzalo López-Gallego’s ‘found footage horror’ has the potential to be something brilliant, yet in its desire to be something that it’s not, it fails spectacularly. ‘Found footage’ has been done to death, and in my opinion, The Blair Witch Project is the best of the lot, with REC coming a close second. Apollo 18, however, offers something unique, something that in hindsight, could refresh the genre for millions more to enjoy. Its strength lies in its setting: the moon. Immediately it is obvious that these characters will have to endure loneliness, isolation and segregation from humanity. If the film even bothered to tap into these simplistic yet raw themes, it would be an extreme improvement. Unfortunately, everything you want to happen is ignored and what is left is a thin storyline, an attempted horror and plot holes the size of moon craters. (Couldn’t resist. Sorry.)

The premise of the film is actually fantastic, which makes the finished outcome all the more disappointing. Film footage, uploaded to www.lunartruth.com, reveals that the cancelled Apollo 18 mission did in fact launch but never returned, which is why we never went back to the moon. The film, which acts as the material uploaded to the net, uncovers the secrets that NASA has been holding back for years. It’s all very intriguing. The problem lies with the film itself. Multiple sub-plots are stronger than the main story thread, ignored for the most part and only brought back to our attention when they’re conveniently needed. Inextricable problems are suddenly solved without a second thought and the film relies a little too much on the ‘Deus Ex Machina’ plot device to end the character’s dilemmas. It’s dumb and it’s stupid and a great disappointment.

Russians on the moon: One of the better storylines.

Visually, the film is stunning. López-Gallego should congratulate himself on his recreation, but it’s not enough for us to ignore the major flaws that exist here. The film takes an extremely long time to get going, too long for us to feel as if it’s worth investing anything here. When it does, things get interesting. Our main characters find an abandoned Russian landing module on the moon, the inside trashed and covered in blood. This is where Apollo 18 should have focused its energy; as the astronauts communicate with Earth in an attempt to uncover the truth, there is a genuine sense of foreboding and uneasiness. Not surprisingly, this disturbing atmosphere, so expertly crafted, only exists during the more realistic parts of the film, only to dissolve once the idea of an alien creature is introduced. Unfortunately, the Russian story is relegated to a subplot and left forgotten until the very end and there’s no concrete explanation as to why they are actually there. Reasons are hinted at, but for something that is given such prominence at the beginning of the film, the pay off is weak. I’m sure it would be fair to say that Apollo 18 would work far better as a conspiracy thriller. If López-Gallego could think of a legitimate reason as to why the Russians were really there and what happened to them, then this would most likely be something excellent. After all, why does the ‘found footage’ genre always have to revolve around the horrific?

Logic and realism are sacrificed to make a ‘horror’ film that offers nothing new than the one before it. When the good old ‘alien passing outside the window’ scene arrives, it turns out creatures the size of small rocks possess massive shadows that cover the entire lunar landing module. López-Gallego and his team have fallen victim to the horror clichés that dominate the genre these days. This brings me to the biggest plot hole of all, as well as the biggest spoiler. If you’re still planning on watching, I would recommend that you stop reading now and come back later.

All three astronauts die. Any footage that exists is either destroyed in space or left on the moon. We are told at the beginning of the film that, ‘we never went back.’ How, then, did this footage ever get found? I feel as if Dimension Films are really scraping the barrel when their entire marketing campaign (found footage from the moon!) is a sheer impossibility. Are we really meant to believe that this all just found its way back down to Earth? Even an unrealistic explanation would be better than nothing. Ignorance is rife here and it shows.

The casting of three unknowns is a good decision, although their performances are not the best I’ve ever seen. Warren Christie as Astronaut Ben Anderson has the best scenes out of the trio, and he makes the most of the climactic, ‘You’re not coming back to Earth’ scenario. I would be surprised if anyone still cared about these characters by the time their ‘official’ fates are revealed. Apollo 18 is only ninety minutes, yet a long, drawn out beginning makes it feel much longer. As the credits roll over a sombre, piano rendition of ‘We Three Kings’, you will already have pulled apart much of the film’s plot lines. You may also wish you’d spent your £5 on something else. This is one that is destined for the bargain bin when released on DVD and Blu-Ray. No doubt some more footage will have been 'found' by then to bulk out the special features.

Apollo 18 is an extremely predictable story. There’s no substance, no cathartic value. If there weren’t hints of something better in the remnants of an awful horror, then maybe I wouldn’t be so disappointed. It is said that in space, no one can hear you scream. After watching Apollo 18, I don’t think anyone would care.

My Rating: * *