Dead Space: Downfall
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Movie Reviews of Dead Space: Downfall
Movie Review: Great product!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a gift so I wasn't able to check if the product is in perfect condition, but it appears to be in perfect condition and received very quickly.Movie Review: Goretacular!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Dead Space: Downfall" is an animated film that serves as a prequel to the outstanding science-fiction survival horror video game, Dead Space. The story draws heavily upon previous masterpieces of film and game alike which most prominently include Aliens, Resident Evil (the games), 28 Days/Weeks Later and Halo. It makes for an entertaining stand-alone popcorn flick to people unfamiliar with the game and fleshes out the story for fans of the game somewhat by showing the events leading up to the nerve-wracking experience of the game in greater detail.
Whether or not you play video games, if you love animated violence then this is as brutal as it gets. The story involves a mining vessel sent by the fanatical Church of Unitology (Unitarian Scientologists?) to retrieve an artifact on a dead planet. The mining vessels subsist by "cracking" planets and selling the ore. Some say this is detrimental to the harmony of the Universe. I'd say that in this case, that's an understatement. The vessel unwittingly unleashes an alien race -named as "Necromorphs" in the game- that thrive on dead flesh; possessing, reanimating, molding, and mutating it into forms suitable for slaying even more living things to continually spread the race. The result is damn horrific by any standard. To make things worse something is affecting the minds of the crew and driving them mad, making them both eager to die and kill for the aliens. Mix this with an already fanatical religious sect and you've got trouble.
So other than a typical sci-fi alien/zombie invasion romp, some of the usual "organized religion will kill us all" gloom and doom, and a little extra story for gamers what does "Downfall" offer? Violence. Brutal, inhuman, senseless, bloody, evil, unrelenting, unflinching violence. Decapitation, dismemberment, jaws ripped off, folks sawed in half (both horizontally and vertically), eyeball socket abuse, gaping neck wounds, viscera aplenty, and a freakin' mutated dead baby biting a dude in the face. Now that is some hardcore sh!+. The inside of the ship is practically painted in blood, and there's even a bit o' animated full frontal male nudity if that sort of thing piques your interest. So yeah, you may want to send the kids into the next room for this one. The violence in this is awesome. Also be prepared for almost comically excessive profanity.
So with all the attention showered on the putrid piles of dung that are what usually passes for video game adaptations, why has nobody heard of this? The likes of Uwe Boll and Paul Anderson get notoriety and praise (respectively) for ruining unruinable concepts and franchises while a solid flick like this gets shoved to the back of the shelf? Double-you. Tea. Eff. To be fair, "Downfall" isn't exactly all it could have been either. The video game not only looks better visually, but is far more fleshed out storywise. This film does very little to offer insight into the Necromorphs and few varieties even make appearances. I was hoping for a lot more. Practically none of the game's weapons are present either which is odd considering how cool they are and that the game takes place on the exact same ship which has no shortage of said weapons. At least one character does manage to make their way to the video game, which picks up at the last scene of "Downfall".
Gorehounds, adult animation fanatics, sci-fi horror buffs, and video game aficionados are all going to want to see this. It doesn't offer much more than brutal death, but it offers a whole lot of that. I wish it had been done in CG to retain more of the game's amazing look and feel and that the story had encompassed more... well, story but this is definitely an entertaining hour and fifteen minutes. The special features are sparse. Hopefully more video game adaptations will stick to the animated format which has produced solid if not exceptional films like Street Fighter (compare that to the laughable live-action version) and Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children. My fingers are crossed for the upcoming CG flick Resident Evil: Degeneration.
3 1/2 stars, rounded up for being BRUTAL!
Movie Review: 3 ½ Stars: Space Ships, Aliens, Blood and Gore!!
Summary: 4 Stars
The video game industry is one awesome profitable industry. It's funny when you think about it, since the industry started with games like "Space Invaders" and the dawn of the Sega Genesis. Capcom's "Resident Evil" and "Street Fighter" have spawned several mainstream movies in its wake, Akklaim also with the "Mortal Kombat" franchise. Now, EA's science fiction survival horror game "DEAD SPACE" is a marketing giant in itself, and studios have come up with a sequel of sorts in the form of "DEADSPACE: DOWNFALL". Those who have played the game is no doubt familiar with its violent, brutality and bloody nature. I haven't played the game, but this film certainly has made me wish I had.
In a remote planet colony of Aegis, the mining ship USG Ishimura is summoned to tow an ancient alien artifact and a human colony. A large hole is cut in the ground and the huge artifact is taken aboard the ship. But before the ship becomes en-route to its coordinates, strange things begin to happen in the planet below. People begin to lose control of their actions, mutilating themselves and killing one another in a flurry of gruesome deaths. There appears to be an alien force behind all this, a mysterious alien race came along the artifact for the ride. They kill, and mutate their victims into mutated killers that wish to feed on human flesh. The captain of the Ishimura is adamant on bringing the artifact to Earth and such a move can bring major disaster. Alyssa Vincent (voiced by Nika Futterman) is the ship's security chief and serves as the only reasonable person amid all the madness. She and her team of crack mercenaries are the only hope for the remaining crew of the Ishimura as they blast the mutated zombies with guns, laser pick axs and saws. But it may already be too late...
"Deadspace: Downfall" is one film that relies on its best assets to deliver on its entertainment value. The film itself feels a small part of a rather huge whole, offering very little characterization and the qualities of the mysterious artifact is only mildly touched upon. The film also hints at certain religious misconceptions and human error. The premise of a crew stuck in space with an alien menace have been done before by movies such as "Alien" and "Event Horizon". While the film offers little new, what makes it succeed is the manner of which it unfolds, with certain scenes of action and gore nicely placed throughout the screenplay to deliver an intense atmosphere.
Ok, so the film is animated and the gore scenes can't look all that real right? Well, being animated, the film does have its weaknesses in delivering its blood and gore factor. Even with its nicely done animation, the film's bloody scenes may look rather gross, but cannot really compare to the awesome gross-out factor of a live-action film. To compensate, the film's violence is actually on overdrive, as we see mutilated limbs, entrails being devoured, sliced heads, decapitations, essentially, no one is left unscathed. The film is flashy, and brutally violent; it is definitely not for the faint of heart--the film is an unrelenting bloodbath.
There was one scene when a religious man named Irons made himself a decoy for others to get away. It was a practice in pure courageous sacrifice that gave the film some emotional impact. It may seem contrived at first, but the director Chuck Patton managed to play out the scene very well. The characters may lack very little characterization, but what little development there may be is seen in its violent encounters. The adage "action speaks louder than words" comes to mind, I had no difficulty connecting with the protagonists as I see them fight for their lives. The film is also full of creepy atmosphere, and has that touch of simplicity which I liked. It was also paced well, and its 75 minute run time provides the intense but breezy experience needed to keep the screenplay compact. Going a little longer may make the film a little repetitive, I was happy to see its direction practice a sense of restraint.
While the film isn't without its faults, the weak plot development may seem a little contrived at times and some of the motivations weren't fully fleshed out; I found the film quite enjoyable for a direct to dvd movie. I know that this was meant as a background for the game, and a small part of a whole, and I am sure those who played the game can make better sense of its storyline. I am pretty sure that fans of the game would no doubt be interested, heck, it made me curious as to what the game is about.
"Dead Space: Downfall" will not become a classic but it makes use of its best assets to the maximum in narrative. The kill scenes were quite inventive and violent, and the action more than compensates for its weaknesses. It may be feel a little empty if you are unfamiliar with its source material but I guess I'm just happy to see American studios going over the stereotype that cartoons are all meant for kids. The film channels the best its got quite well, I found it very entertaining.
Recommended! Timidly. [3 ½ Stars]
Movie Review: Not bad, not bad at all.
Summary: 4 Stars
Finally, a decent R rated American animation. I was expecting the usual mediocre cash-in game merchandise treatment, but I got a nice horror movie.
Humans in outer space discovering a sculpture that turns them into cannibal mutants, sounds familiar and boring, but thankfully the makers of this film raised the goreometer level and concentrated on the surviving side of the story, leaving the explanation to be discovered in the video game, which by the way is great.
Yes the animation isn't that good looking, but the editing and the gore scenes are well made, I ended up saying to myself "what the hell is going on?" When some killing scenes didn't stop. Watch out for the nearly headless woman and the needle.
The DVD extras are one deleted story board scene, movei and game trailers, photo gallery and an isolated soundtrack. There are also trailers of some B horror movies.Nice touch with the cover, it shows a severed left arm, the game has a severed right arm.
Movie Review: A good backstory to a awesome game
Summary: 4 Stars
For any one who has played the video game you know how it ends but if have not seen this film you won't know how it started.
Dead Space Downfall is the feature-lenght prequel to explain why the Ishimura and it's crew went up s**ts creek without a space paddle.
The Ishimura went on a deep space mining mission to a remote planet sent by a group called unitogilist to find a ancient religious relic, thought to be proof to be the exitence of God, but it turns out to something to be something much worse.
Just because this is a cartoon this is not for kids, Dead Space Downfall is a fast action packed and gresome ride the only downfalls to this film is that the voice acting at times can be s**t! and the film is not very long, but all in all this worth the time.