Pandorum
Pandorum is a mental malady undefined in the dictionary that is like cabin fever to the power of ten where despair brought on by isolation causes violent psychosis. There are hints of it aboard a hulking space ship adrift in the firmament but for the most part that’s a latent defect and the current patent problems are clearly more dangerous. It’s centuries in the future and with the earth population running up exponentially the world is running out of stuff. Life on a distant planet appears hospitable so this good ship is on a pilgrimage to that brave new world. This involves an extended period of suspended animation and we meet corporal Bower (Ben Foster) as he comes to only to find the ship in less than shipshape. There’s no power other than intermittent burst and there doesn’t seem to be anyone else on board. Bowers memory is spotty from the long sleep and when Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid) also comes out of hibernation he’s not much clearer on details. Bower starts a long walk to the reactor room to try to get the juice flowing but on the way runs into the real menace – slimy cannibalising but under explained creatures who are mutants of former fellow crew members. Bowers quest is aided by Nadia (Antje Traue no doubt an obligatory German actor in this Deutschland production). She’s a hot biologist cum ninja who is able to fill in a lot of blanks for Bower. Pandorum is a nice try for a low budget film but its audience may be isolated which could cause despair for the producers.