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Cast: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen , Ryan Robbins
Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 7, 1972, was the last manned mission to the moon. But two years later, in December of 1974, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it’s the real reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.
There has been plenty of "lost and found footage" movies over the last few years and their getting a a bit old at this point. "Apollo 18" is another in a long line of these kinds of movies but it fairs a little better for two reasons. One reason is that the story is at least a bit original with the whole Apollo mission thing and the other reason is that the film uses many cameras that are placed both inside the ship and on the surface of the moon so you get many different angles and there's much more to see. The film is never really scary at all, there's 1 or 2 spots in the film where some people might jump but other than that I was never once scared. But the film does have some creepy atmosphere to it, the camera angles and setting really help in creating a feeling of dread.
I can't say that this is a good film but if you like movies such as "Blair Witch" and "Paranormal Activity" then I think you should check this one out as well but if you find these shacky camera movies to be annoying then take a pass on this one. To go into details about what happens in the film would only ruin it for those waiting to see it so I am not going to do that here. There are only three characters in the film and their not really developed very well but since their the only ones stuck it the situation you do have some feelings towards them.
The cast did a good job with what they had to work with and I really liked the moon setting and the camera work which saved the film from being a complete waste of time. If there were more horror elements added to the story it could of been so much better but as it is I found it to be average.
"Apollo 18" is available on a Single DVD and a Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy Combo Pack. Special Features include:
Feature Commentary with Director Gonzola Lopez-Gallego and Editor Patrick Lussier
Deleted and Alternate Scenes
Alternate Endings
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
** 1/2 Out Of *****