Corporal Bower (Ben Foster), wakes from an extended hyper sleep, with no memory of who he is and what his mission is aboard the passenger sleeper ship Elysium. After discovering his name on his pod and finding his locker and items, Bower is soon after joined by Lieutenant Payton (Dennis Quaid), who he wakes from hyper sleep. The two then try to figure out what has happened aboard while trying to access the ships bridge with no luck, while also attempting to make contact with others on the ship with no success. Bower decides to venture out through the ship to discover what is happening aboard the Elyisum and where all the crew have gone. With the aid of Lt. Payton, via comm link, Bower slowly discovers the grisly secrets that the ship holds. 

First of all, the meaning behind the word ‘Pandorum’, in the film is described as ‘Orbital Dysfunctional Syndrome’ which is a psychological condition caused by flying in deep space, that feeds into paranoia and causes the person who gets it to descend into madness, which fit’s the feel for the film quite nicely. 

Pandorum is an interesting piece of sci-fi/horror. Though the plot contains many elements that we have seen before, it does come out with a few surprises which give the film that bit of a lift that makes it definitely worth watching. Ben Foster’s performance the strongest part of the film. Man, this guy can act! I enjoyed Foster a great deal with this and other performances he’s done in his career (3:10 to Yuma is a standout and his smaller role in 30 Days of Night shows the kind of talent this guy has). Foster puts alot into this performance and the film is all the better for it. If the role was played by another actor without the dedication that Foster has, the film would have suffered greatly because of it. Dennis Quaid gives a good performance as always, though he does spend the majority of the film in a room by himself. 

The production design is incredible. As the characters walk through Elysium, this massive people carrier of a ship, you can tell that it’s been on a very long journey, looking well worn and put through it’s paces. Dark, grimy, wet and cold, it’s a long departure from other cinematic spaceships, like the U.S.S. Enterprise. The atmosphere that is created is incredible. It’s almost like you could smell the ship and feel the cold on your skin as the characters walk it’s long corridors. The ship is a character in and of itself, no question. The filmmakers have done an incredible job of bringing it to life and making it more than it is.    

There are some issues with the film though. The first half hour feels very rushed, pushing through the first section of the story as quickly as possible to reveal the films creatures and get the ball rolling. Rushed and very overcut, with quick cuts going everywhere. I never really felt like I could follow what was happening. After the first half hour though, it does slow down to an easier to follow and enjoyable pace, with less quick cutting in the editing. 

The films main villains, which are cannibalistic creatures that dwell inside the ship feel generic and just not very interesting, with some looking like they’re wearing football armour. Think The Crawlers from The Descent crossed with the biker warriors from Mad Max 2 and you’ll come very close.  

The Blu-ray transfer is of a very high calibre, with no real visual faults to be found. This is the way a sci-fi film should look. Rich in colour and texture, with beautifully shining control consoles. Rusting, wet corridors that you could just reach out, touch and feel the texture and grit of these inner labyrinths of the Elysium. The green glow from glow sticks that illuminate the skin and highlight the sweat running a characters face. The audio compliments the visuals well. Booming power surges in the ship that will rattle your speaker system. Echoing voices through the bowels of the ship that will pass around through your surround sound system, making you sink deeper into your chair. All in all, the video and audio quality are tip top and are almost faultless in both aspects. 

The Blu-ray disc comes with some good extras, including an informative commentary, featuring the Director; Christian Alvart and Producer; Jeremy Bolt. A 14 minute behind the scenes featurette (HD). 16 deleted and alternate scenes and 4 separate stills galleries.   

Pandorum is an entertaining piece of sci-fi/horror, that is carried by some good performances, incredible production design and some very interesting plot twists. It’s not perfect and you probably will forget it after seeing it, but it will find an audience and a dedicated fan following and it’s always good to see some more sci-fi flicks on the big screen.