Film: With his film "Antikörper" Christian Alvart, who hails from near Frankfurt am Main, drew attention not only in Germany. The thriller also met with great enthusiasm internationally, which opened doors for Alvart in the USA. In the meantime, Alvart has put together two international productions, which are now also coming to our cinemas. While the release of "Fall 39" with Renee Zellweger, which was already filmed in 2007, did not hit cinemas until spring 2010, the science fiction thriller "Pandorum", which was filmed later, already started in our cinemas in October 2009 and is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Somewhere in space, astronauts Payton (Dennis Quaid) and Bower (Ben Foster) awoke from artificial deep sleep. Disoriented and without any memories, they find themselves confined to a very small space. Through the gloomy and extremely narrow air shafts of the gigantic ship, Bower must find a way to the bridge. For, this much his sketchy memory tells him, all signs indicate that the ship's vital power system is in danger of collapsing unless a reboot is performed. But no sooner has the astronaut left the air ducts, connected only by radio to Payton, than he discovers that a much greater, deadly danger lurks on the ship...
To reveal more about the contents of "Pandorum" would noticeably dull the enjoyment of this tense mix of science fiction, horror and thriller. While the script does make fairly obvious use of various works in these genres, such as "Event Horizon" (whose director Paul W.S. Anderson serves as producer here) or "The Descent". But still, Christian Alvart's space trip has enough moments of suspense and shock and some successful twists that make the gloomy work extremely entertaining for long stretches.
Particular emphasis must be placed on the occasionally oppressive and claustrophobic atmosphere that Alvart has created. The design of the interior of the spaceship has been kept to the bare essentials, and that's a good thing. Deserted corridors, narrow air shafts filled with thick cables or huge warehouses, sparsely lit and bathed in cool colours, create an oppressive mood that is difficult for the viewer to escape. The film was shot on 54 sets, most of them in Babelsberg, where Alvart has already shot "Antikörper" (whose lead actor Wotan Wilke Möhring also makes a mini guest appearance here). The great work of the set designers on these sets and the limitation of computer effects to a minimum contribute considerably to the film's engaging atmosphere.
However, "Pandorum" must also allow itself to be criticized. Particularly in the film's faster scenes, the cuts seem all too frantic at times. This, and the fact that the action often takes place in the dark, doesn't exactly help the viewer appreciate the work of the makeup artists, set designers, stunt people, or even the actors. Furthermore, the story becomes more and more confusing as the plot progresses. It's nice that not everything is explained in detail and that the viewer is left with room for his own explanations and speculations. But it would have been just nice if every character in the movie who can contribute something to the resolution of the mystery surrounding the events on the spaceship Elysium wasn't a crazed lunatic, which makes it extremely exhausting to follow these very explanations.
So at some point, as a viewer, you believe yourself to be suffering from that space sickness that the film's astronauts refer to as "Pandorum": the inability to distinguish reality from hallucinations. But fortunately, you don't have to worry about the more unpleasant side effects, such as tremors and nosebleeds, while watching the film.
Because despite the occasionally somewhat confusing storyline, which seems to be pieced together from many familiar elements, "Pandorum" is, on balance, atmospheric, suspenseful space horror with two good leads, great sets, and some very good shock effects. And therefore applies: with small deductions well worth seeing!
Picture + Sound: The technical realization of the DVD can definitely be called extremely successful. The good sound mixing transmits the oppressive atmosphere of the film first-class into the living room at home. The details come even in the darker scenes well to the validity, here is now and then only a slight image noise to make out. Otherwise, there is hardly anything to complain about in the picture. The same can be said for the sound, which provides a tense and oppressive atmosphere with well-mixed surround effects. Very good.
Extras: The DVD has some interesting extras to offer. Starting things off here is a German language audio commentary by director Christian Alvart. Here, Alvart talks a bit about the origins of the project and the changes he made to his original, less horror-oriented sci-fi idea in favor of working with producer Paul W.S. Anderson. In addition to some technical information about the making of the film, such as the lighting of the oppressive cable shaft scene, which is unusual for a major production like this, there are also quite a few pauses or moments where Alvart is merely relaying what the viewer is about to see anyway. Still, this commentary is absolutely recommended for interested fans.
Commentary number 2 is voiced by Alvart along with producer Jeremy Bolt in English (with no optional subtitles). This commentary is a bit more relaxed and also offers some interesting details about the filming, but in part the information is repetitive. Furthermore, the DVD has a rather short (14 minutes) but informative making of, a few short promotional interviews (totaling just under 17 minutes), image galleries and cast information. In addition, viewers are offered the opportunity to watch the film with parallel storyboard inserts.
Those looking for even more extras will find them on the Blu-ray disc. Here there are a few more cut, extended and alternate scenes, as well as a nearly 15-minute behind-the-scenes look.
Conclusion: "Pandorum" is an exciting sci-fi horror film with a few minor hang-ups. The DVD is technically very well implemented and has some extras worth seeing or hearing to offer. Definitely recommended for genre fans!
Original title: Pandorum
Director: Christian Alvart
Length: approx. 104 min.
FSK: age 16+
number of discs: 1
languages: German (Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES Matrix), English (Dolby Digital EX)
Subtitles:German
Image Format: 16:9 (2.35:1)
Extras: 2 audio commentaries, making of, storyboard inserts, interviews, image galleries, cast info, trailer show
Country code: 2
Label: Constantin Film / Highlight
Order this DVD here at amazon.en:
Also available as Blu-Ray:
