Apollo 18 (2011)

Directed by: Gonzalo López-Gallego | 89 minutes | horror, thriller, science fiction | Actors: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins, Michael Kopsa, Andrew Airlie, Kurt Max Runte, Jan Bos, Kim Wylie, Noah Wylie, Ali Liebert, Erica Carroll, Thomas Greenwood

In ‘Apollo 18’ you follow the journey of three astronauts, John Grey, Nathan Walker and Benjamin (Ben) Anderson with the Apollo 18. The goal of the mission is to explore the moon more closely. John Gray’s job is to stay behind in the base of the Apollo 18, the Freedom. There he stays in touch with the astronauts on the moon and NASA on Earth. John’s colleagues Nathan and Benjamin travel to the celestial body with the moon lander Liberty and land safely. The duo jests at John that he’s so close, yet can’t walk on the moon. The cosmonaut who stayed behind doesn’t care much about it and allows his colleagues to have the fun.

Nathan and Ben stare at the moon. On the first day, they immediately take a tour where they switch on the equipment they have brought with them that they have been instructed to use. These so-called PD-5s are supposed to gather valuable information about the moon. In addition, Ben collects samples from the special lunar surface. The two times met back in the Liberty. Everything seems fine. But there are subtle hints that it isn’t as ordinary as it seems after all. Suddenly, one of the rocks that Ben took during the spacewalk is on the floor of the Liberty. Ben doesn’t get it: he’s sure all the geological samples were neatly stored. Nathan blames Ben’s carelessness.

The second day Nathan and Ben go outside again to explore the moon further. This time they use a Rover vehicle to cover more miles. During the trip, they are shocked to find tracks on the lunar soil. But according to their NASA bosses, they would really be the only ones with a mission on the moon. Nathan and Ben investigate and discover more than she likes. When later on returning to the Liberty, the communication also fails, the problems really start…

‘Apollo 18’ pretends to be a documentary. That’s why the makers have used different styles of filming to make it look as authentic as possible. It works nicely, but as a viewer you have to love the changing perspectives and styles. Because in that ‘Apollo 18’ is a mishmash.

Because most of the images are shot from the perspective of the characters, you get the impression that you are walking around on the moon yourself. This works well for the tension. But this approach doesn’t help you really care about the fate of astronauts Nathan and Ben. You simply don’t know enough about the men.

The only person you have any sympathy for is Ben. This is because he has a family waiting for him at home. For example, there is a nice scene where Ben listens to a cassette tape and discovers that his son has spoken something. The personal facts that you further learn from the gentlemen are given by the filmmakers through a well-intentioned anecdote that Nathan tells Benjamin about cutting chili peppers. Furthermore, you have to make do with a few glimpses of a barbecue where the three astronauts were with their loved ones.

The tension is gradually increased, but after the long wait you do not really get satisfaction at the denouement of the mystery. When you finally realize how the fork is in the stem, you don’t see much yet. Only in one of the last final scenes do you see more of the so-called reason why the moon is so dangerous…

The last fifteen minutes could well have been left on the editing table for a spicier ending. Now the film goes out like a candle. Visually, the makers have taken a lot of effort to convince you that ‘Apollo 18’ is a documentary, but they could also have applied the same persuasiveness to the content, because in this they fall short.