MOVIE REVIEW: Taut sci-fi horror film ‘Life’ needs a little soul – Gwinnettdailypost.com

Life

(R)

2 1/2 out of 4 stars

I have a recollection of a Vincent Price TV spot from the mid-80s, in which the venerable horror actor remarked on the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Ominously, he said something like, We really dont know what (the aliens) will be like DO we?

Thats the premise of Life, a sci-fi horror film thats basically Alien and Gravity spliced together.

The movie opens with a long, uncut shot following the crew of the International Space Station preparing to catch an out-of-control probe on its way back from Mars carrying precious samples of dust from the red planet for study aboard the station. The samples show definite signs of organic and even potentially living biological material, to the great joy of the astronauts in space and people watching on Earth.

But as Ive made clear, this is a horror movie. The joy is short-lived.

The solid ensemble cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya as the multinational crew of the ISS. In a slight opening act misstep, the script starts with the aforementioned action before attempting to properly introduce the characters and endear them to the viewer. Its not enough to doom the proceedings, but it hampers the narrative a little when the stakes are raised.

Said stakes are when the small biological sample discovered begins to grow, well, not so small and even less benign.

What follows is a plot that delivers many of the tropes of both the monster and disaster film genres: jump scares, failing rescue attempts, a seemingly immortal killer, cast members dying one by one. But its bolstered by great special effects and solid internal logic.

This relative realism helps Life score points that eluded a similarly themed but far more fantastical film in 2012s Prometheus. In that space-bound horrorfest, characters motivations and actions defied all good sense or rationality and you couldnt wait for some of them to die. But the characters in Life never make the purely selfish call, and their motives remain crystal clear throughout the ordeal. Its refreshing to see astronauts actually behave as astronauts in this sort of entertainment.

Its both a strength of the film and a bit of a problem for the story. Often in these horror stories, the carnage is mere framework to tell a deeper fable. For instance, while Alien looks like a monster story, its also a commentary on how corporate greed obscures humanitarian concerns. Similarly, Gravity is a story about a person finding the will to live, that life is worth living.

Little of that substance appears in Life. Its instead a surprisingly rote, by-the-numbers, what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of thriller. By that standard, it more than gets the job done. But we only have to look at the brilliantly race-themed Get Out to see how horror can tell a bigger story.

Life clearly wants to be as memorable as its inspirations. However, to do that, this film would have to make a point rather than rely on shock value. For all the heroism of its cast, this story is otherwise remarkably nihilist is its worldview. Life is not a movie that celebrates its namesake.

(Columbia Pictures)

Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Get Breaking News alerts from the Gwinnett Daily Post delivered to your email.

Daily local news headlines from across Gwinnett County.

Daily sports headlines from across Gwinnett County, including high school, professional and college news.

View post:
MOVIE REVIEW: Taut sci-fi horror film 'Life' needs a little soul - Gwinnettdailypost.com

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero