Apollo 18 (2011) – Review

Where to watch Apollo 18

1/2 Star

Apollo 18 is another in the unrelentingly schlock-y sub-genre know as the Found Footage film. This time instead of a haunted house or ghost in the woods, the premise is set in space where three astronauts are terrorized by an alien presence. That is what passes as ingenuity in this amateurish film that barely registers as a feature, clocking in at a scant 85 minutes. The only thing the filmmakers get right is the palpable sense of fear of government agencies, a heavily predominant theme in films of the 1970’s in which this is set.

As the small crew begins to realize they have been placed on the moon as bait to draw out a murderous extra terrestrial you would expect tension and screams to follow, yet its more monotony. Behind this sinister double cross is the implication of a massive conspiracy by NASA and the Department of Defense to hide this footage for nearly 40 years. In reality it’s an interesting concept that is poorly executed and an obviously fictional story. If you are halfway intelligent moviegoers do yourself a favor and screen Peter Hyams infinitely better film Capricorn One. It deals with similar elements in a much more compelling way. Apollo 18 is an absolutely awful movie that manages to bore viewers more than scare them.

Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Stars: Warren Christie, Ryan Robbins, Ali Liebert