Life (2017)
Steve Barton
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Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Olga Dihovichnaya, Ariyon Bakare, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ryan Reynolds
Directed by Daniel Espinosa
I remember seeing the original Alien in a theater as a small child. I was scared shitless. It wasn’t until years later that another flick set in space got my ghost, and that was Event Horizon. Since then, bupkis. Until now…
Life is one of the most realistic — and terrifying — monster movies to come along in decades.
Life is just fine aboard the International Space Station until the day a runaway probe from Mars is expertly docked with it. The contents of said probe contain samples from the angry red planet, one of which ends up carrying the first definitive bit of proof of extraterrestrial life. The news is reported back to Earth, and the world is elated by this amazing discovery–that is, until a series of intense events lead to this thing escaping… growing… and then thoroughly causing chaos aboard the ship. Our crew members are then faced with a task… how do you kill it, and more specifically, how do you ensure that this thing never makes it to Earth?
That’s the dilemma faced by our crew of heroes, comprised of astronauts from around the world; and before long it turns into one hell of a violent ride for them and us, the audience. To say that the acting is top-notch is a given in terms of the talent assembled here, who are required to do their jobs in a completely zero gravity environment that only adds to the intensity. We’ve see people running through spaceships in the movies before, but having their feet never touch the ground in Life makes the setting feel completely unique, fresh, and unexpectedly intense.
The creature itself is mostly a CG creation, but it is really well-thought-out and presented. There wasn’t a moment of “see how fake that looks,” and you can almost feel how intelligent this thing is. Then there are the kills: Each one is extremely violent and even hard to watch. Lots of people in the theater with us — maybe expecting something more along the lines of Arrival — were covering their eyes, and some even left. Me? I was like, “FUCK YES!”
If you’re in the market for a truly intense horror film with just enough sci-fi to appease fans of that sub-genre, Life is more than just worth living through! I cannot wait for my eventual home video triple feature of this and the aforementioned others that worked so well in this infinitely interesting setting. It will leave you gasping with a killer ending that promises more carnage to come. Please give us more! Thanks, we’ll wait!
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
