| Apollo 18 | |
|---|---|
Official movie poster |
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| Directed by | Gonzalo López-Gallego |
| Produced by | Timur Bekmambetov Ron Schmidt |
| Written by | Brian Miller |
| Starring | Warren Christie Lloyd Owen Ryan Robbins |
| Cinematography | José David Montero |
| Editing by | Patrick Lussier |
| Studio | Bazelevs |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | September 2, 2011 |
| Running time | 86 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million[2] |
| Box office | $25,562,753 [2] |
Apollo 18 is a 2011 American science fiction horror film written by Brian Miller directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Ron Schmidt. The film's premise is that the officially canceled Apollo 18 mission was actually launched in December 1974 but never returned, and as a result the United States has never launched another expedition to the Moon. The film is shot in a found-footage style, supposedly of the lost footage of the Apollo 18 mission that was only recently discovered.
The film is López-Gallego's first English-language film.
After various release date changes, the film was released in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada on September 2, 2011; however, the release dates for other territories vary.[3]
Contents |
In December, 1974, the crew of the previously-cancelled Apollo 18 mission is informed that the mission is a go, though it has now been deemed a top secret Department of Defense mission. Commander Nathan Walker, Lieutenant Colonel John Grey and Captain Benjamin Anderson are launched towards the Moon to place detectors to alert the United States of any impending ICBM attacks from the USSR.
Grey remains in orbit aboard the Freedom Command/Service module while Walker and Anderson land on the moon in the lunar module Liberty. While planting one of the detectors, the pair take samples of moon rocks. While attempting to sleep, the pair hear noises outside and a camera captures a small rock moving nearby. Houston claims the noises are interference from the ICBM detectors. Anderson finds a rock sample on the floor of Liberty despite having secured the samples. During further exploration they discover footprints that lead them to a bloodstained Soviet LK lander nearby, finding it functional. Anderson follows tracks leading into a dark crater and finds a dead cosmonaut. Walker queries Houston about the Soviet presence but is told only to continue with the mission.
The following day the pair find that the flag they had planted is missing. Their mission complete, the crew prepares to leave the Moon but the launch is aborted when Liberty suffers violent shaking. An inspection reveals extensive damage to Liberty and non-human tracks that Walker cites as evidence of extraterrestrial life. Walker feels something moving inside his spacesuit and helmet and is horrified as a spider-like creature crawls across the inside of his helmet. Walker disappears from view and Anderson finds him unconscious outside of Liberty. Walker later denies the events. A wound is discovered on Walker's chest; Anderson feels, and removes, a Moon rock embedded within him. The pair find themselves unable to contact Houston or Grey due to increased levels of interference from an unknown source.
Anderson speculates that the true intention of the ICBM warning devices is to monitor the aliens. The pair also increasingly wonder if the devices are the source of the interference; Houston had assured them that this was not so. Walker shows signs of a developing infection around his wound and he becomes increasingly paranoid. The mission cameras capture the rock samples moving around in the interior of Liberty, revealing that the aliens are the moon rocks (or indistinguishable from the real rocks). Increasingly delusional, Walker attempts to destroy the cameras within Liberty but accidentally damages the system controls, causing Liberty to depressurize. Realizing the Soviet LK is their only source of oxygen, the pair travel to the LK lander in their lunar rover. Along the way, Walker attempts to run away, believing he should not leave the Moon because of the risk of spreading the infection to Earth. Anderson crashes as he attempts to stop Walker.
Anderson awakens and tracks Walker, finding him at the crater where they found the cosmonaut. Walker is pulled into the crater by the creatures. Anderson gives chase, using his strobe light to illuminate the area. The rocks start to sprout their spider-like legs, causing Anderson to flee to the Soviet LK. Using its radio he makes contact with USSR Mission Control who connect him to the United States Department of Defense. The deputy secretary of the department informs Anderson that they will not allow him to return to Earth, admitting they are aware of the situation and fear he is also infected. Anderson manages to contact Grey and they make arrangements for Anderson to return to Freedom. Anderson prepares the lander for launch but it is attacked by a psychotic Walker. Before Walker can breach the vehicle, he is swarmed by the creatures, which crawl into his helmet and cause his blood to splatter onto the lander.
Anderson launches the LK lander successfully with the intent of rendezvousing near Freedom and entering it via spacewalk. Grey is told by the DoD that Anderson is infected and is ordered to abort his rescue or communication will be ceased, rendering him unable to return to Earth. Inside the Soviet lander, the reduced gravity causes small rocks within the craft to float. Anderson realizes with horror that some of the rocks are actually alien creatures. Anderson is attacked and infected by the creatures, preventing him from controlling the vehicle, leaving it headed toward Freedom. Grey yells to Anderson that he is coming in too fast. The space footage ends abruptly, implying a collision.
The footage cuts to before the pilots' mission, showing them having a barbecue with friends and family. The "official" fate of the astronauts is given, describing them as having died in various accidents that left their bodies unrecoverable. An epilogue explains that many of the rock samples returned from the previous Apollo missions are unaccounted for.
The film was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia and stars actors Lloyd Owen and Warren Christie.[4] However, it has been promoted as a "found footage" film that does not use actors. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dimension Films head Bob Weinstein denied the film was a work of fiction, stating that “We didn’t shoot anything, we found it. Found, baby!”[5][6] The film is distributed by Dimension Films.[7]
The Science & Entertainment Exchange provided a science consultation to the film's production team.[8] NASA was also "minimally involved with this picture," but declined to go further with the project.[9]
Apollo 18 was released on September 2, 2011 in multiple countries. Originally scheduled for February 5, 2010, the film's release date was moved eight times during the year (including to June 18, 2010, October 15, 2010, March 4, 2011, April 22, 2011, July 8, 2011, January 6, 2012, August 26, 2011, and September 2, 2011).[10][11][12][13][14][3]
Dimension Films refused to screen the film to the press and placed a review embargo on the film until it was released on September 2, 2011.
As of September 16, 2011, Apollo 18 has earned $16,126,000 domestically, plus $7,917,922 overseas for a worldwide gross of $24,043,922 against a $5 million budget, becoming a financial success.[2] In its opening weekend, Apollo 18 screened in 3,328 theaters and opened in number 3, earning $8,704,271, with an average of $2,615 per theater. In its second weekend, the movie earned $2,851,349, dropping 62.7%, with an average of $856 per theater, dropping to number 8, but still has a lower total gross over Shark Night 3D, another horror movie opening the same weekend as Apollo 18.
The film has received mixed to generally negative reviews from critics. While some praised the camera work and special effects,[15] other reviews were not so favorable. On the online reviews site Rotten Tomatoes, the film was given a 23% "rotten" rating based on 60 reviews, with the consensus "A boring, suspense-free Paranormal Activity rip-off that feels long even at just 90 minutes,"[16] while Metacritic, which gives a standardized score between 0 and 100, gives the film a 24 based on 19 critic reviews, which indicates generally unfavorable reviews.[17]
The film was released December 27, 2011 on DVD, Blu-ray, and Online distribution. Special features include an audio commentary with director Gonzalo López-Gallego and editor Patrick Lussier, deleted and alternate scenes and endings, including footage of how the Russian cosmonaut died.
The film concludes with a statement that the Nixon Administration gave away hundreds of moon rocks to dignitaries around the world, and that many of these moon rocks have been lost or stolen. This is factually true; both the Nixon and Ford Administrations gave away 135 Apollo 11 Moon Rocks and 135 Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rocks, of which as many as 160 have been lost, destroyed or stolen. In 1998 a sting operation, called Operation Lunar Eclipse, made up of personnel from NASA's Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Customs recovered the Honduras Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock valued at 5 million dollars. Since 2002 over 1,000 graduate students at the University of Phoenix, participating in what has been called the Moon Rock Project, have helped track down, recover or locate many moon rocks and found that 160 are unaccounted for, lost or destroyed.[18] In October of 2011, NASA agents raided a Dennys restaurant and arrested a 74-year-old woman for attempting to sell a moon rock from Neil Armstrong for $1.7 million dollars on the black market.[19]