Apollo 18 (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Apollo 18 |
| Original title | Apollo 18 |
| Country of production | USA , Canada |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2011 |
| length | 86 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 16 JMK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Gonzalo López-Gallego |
| script |
Brian Miller Cory Goodman |
| production |
Timur Bekmambetow , Michele Wolkoff |
| music | Sarah Webster |
| camera | José David Montero |
| cut | Patrick Lussier |
| occupation | |
| |
Apollo 18 is a science fiction and horror film from the year 2011 by director Gonzalo López-Gallego .
action
December 1974: NASA sends a team of three astronauts to the moon on behalf of the US Department of Defense in order to set up an elaborate early warning system against the backdrop of the Cold War to protect against possible Soviet threats . Officially, it is just an unmanned flight.
Everything goes according to plan on the first day on the moon. While John Gray from the command module monitors communication in lunar orbit, the first transmitters of the early warning system are set up and activated, lunar rocks are collected, packed, labeled and carefully stowed away, and the crew goes to rest. The next morning, at breakfast, Captain Benjamin “Ben” Anderson confronts Commander Nathan “Nate” Walker with the question of whether he has taken one of the moonstones from the sample holder because it is lying unpacked on the floor in front of it. Both are at a loss as to how it got there, so they pack and stow it.
As they continue their work, the astronauts are confronted with a series of unexpected discoveries. For footprints that are not of them, and a landing capsule of the Soviet Union . Upon entering, Nate realizes that some systems are totally destroyed, but the most important ones are still functional, but there are bloody traces everywhere. Outside, Ben follows in the footsteps to a dark crater nearby and finds a dead cosmonaut and his helmet with a large gap in it. When Ben examines his spacesuit, he finds a tear on the side. When he examines it, the body suddenly jerks, and after a brief shock he finds a moonstone in the crack.
Back in their lander , they report back, wondering what the real reason for their mission is. Ben suspects that the transmitters of the alleged early warning system serve a different purpose, as they transmit on different frequencies than previously discussed. During their resting phase, strange things happen outside of their lunar module, which they discover in their next waking phase: the US flag they set up has disappeared, which is puzzling, the moon rover lies on its side, and radio contact failures and disruptions occur again and again . After a radio briefing with the Ministry of Defense, during which the Soviet space shuttle and the dead were reported, they are cleared for the return flight, and it appears that this discovery was the real aim of the mission. A few seconds before take-off, the lunar module is hit by something, and important systems, etc. a. the radio system will be damaged or destroyed.
While investigating the damage outside the lunar module, Nate comes across strange traces that cannot have been human. He finds the torn flag and realizes that the cameras that have been set up have disappeared without a trace. Suddenly he feels that something is moving in his spacesuit. You can take a quick look at a crab or spider-like creature crawling in a helmet. When Ben comes to his aid, he can save the almost suffocated Nate in the lander. There they discover that a stone-like creature has eaten its way into Nate. They remove it, and Nate destroys it with a hammer. However, it infected him with something unknown. He describes how his thinking “frayed” faster and faster. Despite the radio interference, which is probably caused by the moon beings, the radio reception still works, and without being able to answer them, the control center in Houston gives them the status that the capsule is continuing to send data, which gives them twelve hours of life support and everything is done to get her back, which Nate calls a lie.
When the oxygen runs out, Nate, slowly going mad from his infection, destroys the cameras in the lunar module, which he suspects are there to watch them like guinea pigs, but also other vital systems. As a last resort, they set off with the rover to get to the Soviet landing capsule. While driving, Nate tells Ben to leave him behind and wants to jump off the moving rover. Ben tells Nate to hold on; there is a scuffle and an accident in which the rover is destroyed and Nate can no longer be seen. Ben continues on his way to the Soviet space capsule. He finds Nate in front of a dark crater, where he talks about the creatures and is suddenly pulled into the crater. To save him, Ben follows into the dark crater, where he sees more and more of the moving moonstone creatures in the glow of his flashlight. Ben escapes and escapes into the Russian landing capsule. There he is indirectly informed that it was known that there is dangerous extraterrestrial life on the moon for humans and that he will not be brought back because the risk of infection is too great. But his family will be told that he died a hero.
John in the command module manages to spark Ben from lunar orbit on the frequency of the Soviet landing capsule, and both begin preparations for the launch to save Ben. John helps him to find the right time for his start and course, even though he is given the express order not to save Ben as he is infected, which John ignores. Shortly before Ben takes off, Nate appears again and tries to penetrate the landing capsule with the hammer. After a few blows he stops and you can see that his helmet is now teeming with moon beings, which must have multiplied in his body. He turns to one side, and in the last look at him you can see the glass of his helmet shattering, which he must have smashed in with a hammer to bring about his own end. When Ben switches off the drive after the successful start, the moonstones in the capsule float up through the weightlessness and the moon beings become active and attack Ben. Due to the attack, he can no longer control the capsule and races into the command capsule at much too high a speed, with which he and John actually wanted to return to Earth.
In the credits, Apollo 17 is referred to as the last mission to the moon and officially published reports are shown, according to which the three astronauts died on different missions on earth without their bodies being recovered.
background
The release of the film was preceded by an advertising campaign: In line with the circulating conspiracy theories about the moon landing, the news was spread on the Internet that previously unpublished footage of a secret, late moon landing as part of the Apollo program had appeared. Allegedly, the project known as Apollo 18 was carried out after all.
It was released in theaters in the USA on September 2, 2011 and in Germany on October 13, 2011.
The film "Apollo 18" was inspired by the feature film Moontrap (1989).
Reviews
“Moving this story down is actually not a bad idea. But just as half-heartedly and sloppily as the project was sold in advance, the film is made. Science fiction and horror thrillers are genres in the program, but Apollo 18 doesn't offer enough of either. "
"Especially in moments when the actors turn directly to the camera - to give panic testimony, or just to look really crazy and sinister - the deficits become abundantly clear: The video testimonials in the undergrowth horror by Blair Witch were so oppressive, because the viewer had long since invested emotionally in the fate of the protagonists. Walker and Anderson, on the other hand, remain as pale figures as the rock on which they are stranded. And accordingly, one follows their efforts to escape unscathed from the moon. "
"The strip not only convinces fans of conspiracy theories about the US moon missions, it can also score points with space thriller lovers [...] and also offers a lot of discussion material for the regulars' table."
“Instead of processing all of this in a classic science fiction horror film, the makers are following the overused trend of 'true horror'. Director Gonzalo López-Gallego goes one step further and pretends that the documentary film material that happened to emerge did not come raw from the camera, but rather was edited by a team. Which helps to minimize the problem of montage and dramaturgy of 'found material', as it appeared in similar films from Cloverfield to Troll Hunter ; However, it cannot be completely eradicated here either. [...] So there is still diligent emphasis on shaky images and noisy shock sequences that pretend authenticity, although this is not necessary at all. Ridley Scott's Alien has become a classic of the genre mainly because a great set and convincing actors, a clever script and a director with an overview and a good feeling for timing generated two great moments in cinema. Who cares whether it is "authentic material"? "
“In the meantime there is already a sub-genre with such fake documentaries in which, unlike in the narrative arts, it is not the narrator […] who has to survive, but rather the camera usually lasts to film the death of the recorder. This narrative principle was invented like so many things by Edgar Allan Poe for his short story MS. Found in a bottle . The step from the message in a bottle to the exposed film roll came in the avant-garde splatter film Man Bites Dog from Belgium, and this narrative technique arrived in the mainstream with the Blair Witch Project . […] With Apollo 18 you can see the advantages and limitations of the subgenre. [...] And first of all, this alternative historiography of space travel also has its charm. [...] So Apollo 18 in the second act unfortunately turns into a rather mediocre horror film, in which López-Gallego is primarily concerned with booing as often and impressively as possible. "
literature
- Michael Meyns: Apollo 18 , in: The Science Fiction Year 2012 , edited by Wolfgang Jeschke , Sascha Mamczak and Sebastian Pirling, Heyne, Munich 2012, pp. 566–567. ISBN 978-3-453-52972-4
Web links
- Apollo 18 on theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Apollo 18 atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Apollo 18 in the Lexicon of International Films
- Official website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Approval certificate for Apollo 18 . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2011 (PDF; test number: 129 746 K).
- ↑ Age rating for Apollo 18 . Youth Media Commission .
- ↑ First, "Apollo 18" was announced as a real video recording of a failed mission to the moon. Then the film company uncovered its advertising coup itself. . Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ↑ Film yourself, otherwise nobody will film you
- ↑ Journey to the Cheese
- ↑ Apollo 18: The Secret US Moon Mission
- ↑ Long review Apollo 18 ( Memento from October 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Fear and Terror on the Moon