Dead Space: Downfall
Generally speaking, when a movie based on a videogame comes to fruition, it’s several years after the game that inspired has hit the market. This is usually attributable to logistics of filmmaking and the good old “risk vs. reward” ratio that seems to drive most industries. Making a film takes time and no one wants to risk committing to a movie project based on a franchise that hasn’t yet proven itself. This is what makes Dead Space: Downfall so interesting. EA’s newest potential series came available to gamers in October and the animated DVD prequel followed right on its heels. Someone at EA apparently had a lot of faith in the Dead Space videogame, because this film was clearly in production while the game was still being created.
Of course, the more cynical amongst us might make the assumption that Dead Space: Downfall isn’t so much a film as a 74-minute commercial for the game. There’s a grain of truth to this as Downfall does occasionally feel like an advertisement designed to convince casual gamers that this is a world they might want to explore firsthand, but truthfully, the movie stands well enough on its own two feet that it doesn’t appear to be a simple cash grab. Plus, Downfall isn’t a cinematic version of the events of Dead Space the game-it’s a prequel that highlights what’s happened before the game starts.
In a distant future, Earth’s citizens have taken to space. They’ve largely concluded that life on Earth was a fluke and that no other planet in the universe has been so lucky. So they travel around pulling up chunks of land in order to utilize these planet’s resources for mother Earth…or something. While doing this on one planet, they uncover a strange monolith and bring it on board the ship. Bad idea.
This chunk of stone makes everyone on board go nuts and soon the crew is killing themselves or each other and these strange alien things are bringing them back to life in order to kill more and more of their compatriots. Only the ship’s tiny security force (for real, this ship is gigantic and the entire security force is made up of like five people…) led by Alissa Vincent stands between the alien monsters and the complete destruction of the crew. Since this is a prequel to the game, anyone who’s spent time with Dead Space already knows how this is gonna turn out…
I’ve never been a fan of anime, and while Dead Space: Downfall isn’t anime by definition, it sure does feel like something the Japanese would have come up with. Downfall may be a “cartoon” but it’s clearly not for the kids-people drop the F bomb casually and the level of gore is impressive as people are ripped apart with frightening regularity. The quality of the animation is hit and miss. There are sequences that are amazingly well drawn to the point where you almost forget that this is animation and not live action, but these moments are invariably followed by other scenes that feel cheap even by early ‘80s Saturday morning cartoon standards. The idea to make Downfall as an animated feature is interesting-I’d have preferred to see live-action, but I’m sure this was the cheaper (and financially safer) path to take. I may get my wish anyway, as rumors of a live action Dead Space film are circulating as we speak.
The film’s biggest shortcoming is its story. Downfall never strives to create a narrative of its own, content instead to crib unmercifully from Alien, Event Horizon, and Kubrick’s 2001. The Alien and 2001 influences are blatantly obvious-Alissa is really nothing more than a fouler mouthed and less charming version of Ripley and the monolith angle is pretty self-explanatory. The Event Horizon elements are a little more subtle, but not by much.
This is disappointing because while the ideas that drive the narrative of Dead Space: Downfall are derivative, there’s still a great deal of room for improvisation and creativity when it comes to using them. Unfortunately, screenwriters Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti don’t really seem all that interested in exploring the story’s full potential and instead turn in a script that features a tale that often feels like it was conceived by taking the path of least resistance at every turn.
If the film exceeds expectations in any category, it’s the voice acting. Dead Space: Downfall features a lot of familiar names lending their vocal stylings to the characters and they’re all good. Bruce Boxleitner, Hal Sparks, and Kelly Hu are all featured in the cast. Nika Futterman has the toughest job, voicing Alissa. Futterman’s portrayal of the character is decent enough-albeit slightly predictable-but I think this is mostly because of the way the character’s written and the clichéd dialogue that Futterman has to recite with regularity. Alissa’s lines in the film are painfully predictable.
If you’ve already played through Dead Space and find yourself wanting to know more about the world of the game, Downfall is certainly worth checking out. It’s not a great film (even by animated film standards), but it features just enough gore and crazy alien mutant monsters to keep things interesting. It won’t be a life changing experience, but I can think of worse ways to kill 75 minutes.
Horror Geek Rating: 3 out of 5
Tags: Aliens, animation, Dead Space Downfall, EA, Film Reviews, prequel, video game
May 27th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I played the game and have watched the movie. I actually loved the game, I felt it took a transition from the Survival Horror things you expect. It was almost like the Thing, but instead of Antarctica, its space. The isolation was great, Silent Hill-esque. The movie was good, the animation was hit or miss, it reminded me of the old Liquid Television Aeon Flux pieces with the way it was drawn. Good review as always. I like checking with your site when it comes to horror, and movies in general. You seem to not have the bias that most reviewers have towards the genre. To me horror is the last haven for originality in movies, much as Metal is the last haven for musical innovation. Keep it up brother.