Pandorum is the latest Sci-Fi/Horror venture that can probably be best described as a cross between The Descent and Event Horizon, which may or may not turn some people off. I personally like both films. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from the movie, but it did look pretty good from the trailer and will probably be the closest thing to a Dead Space live-action film for the time being, so I went to the theater with an open mind. Although the movie ended up being somewhat different than I expected, I still enjoyed it and found the premise rather refreshing from the norm.

The story follows a couple men aboard a spacecraft that suddenly awaken from "hyper-sleep" to discover that the rest of the crew in the ship are mysteriously missing. With short-term memory loss (due to the hyper-sleep) and being locked within the room they awoke in, the younger and more agile Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) decides to investigate the rest of the ship, in hopes discovering answers behind the missing crew members. However, instead of simply finding answers, Bower ends up having to fend against incredibly fast and violent humanoid creatures that have somehow boarded the ship.

The first 30-or-so minutes of the movie is actually pretty dark and moody, even offering a couple somewhat nerve-rattling scenes. For nearly the first half it mostly just consists of the seclusion and survival of Bower and a couple other survivors that he comes across. The creatures are sadly not kept hidden as long as they should have been. We're shown what they look like pretty early on, which was a rather disappointment for me, especially when we realize that they're not as animalistic as they first appeared to be. At this point the film also started to veer more towards action than horror elements.

Either way, the film is still a solid effort for the genre thanks to the great atmosphere it offers and very interesting premise. We're mostly kept in the dark with our leads, so we learn more about what really happened as the movie progresses. The final reveal towards the end wasn't a complete surprise for me, but still an interesting one none-the-less.

A refreshing Sci-Fi/Horror flick that surprisingly delivers some pretty dark and atmospheric scenes in the beginning. There are a few suspenseful or creepy moments in the first half, while the second veers more towards action elements. The premise is interesting and original for the most part, and should keep the viewer glued to the screen until the credits roll. Worth a check if you're looking for something good and different than what the genre usually offers us now-a-days.