Film Review: Dead Space Aftermath (2011)

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SYNOPSIS:

The year is 2509 and not only has Earth lost contact with the Ishimura and Isaac Clarke, but now also the USG O’Bannon, the first responder ship sent to rescue them. Four crew members of the O’Bannon have survived. But what happened to the rest of the crew? What were they doing? What secrets are they keeping? All to be revealed…in the Aftermath! Dead Space: Aftermath is a fast paced, horrifying thrill ride told through the perspective of the four survivors by several renowned international directors.

REVIEW:

As a follow up to the first film “Dead Space: Downfall” Electronic Arts has released another epic animated action horror piece by the name of “Dead space:After math”

A Marine squad recognizant team is sent investigate an space vessel by the name of USG Ishimura in trouble that reveals only 4 survivors left after an unexplained tragedy. The 4 are taken into custody while their ship is destroyed as a part of a cleanup effort. The new ship being the USG O’Bannon.Though the captors while seeming to be concerned for the survivors safety are revealed to be cold, merciless and unsympathetic. As we soon learn,  the mission is rooted in discovering the purpose of the artifact known as the “shard”. They do so at any cost while using modern torture devices to get the interrogated to submit. The planet that the survivors came from is on the brink of self destruction but is prevented per way of gravity insertion devices that hold it together long enough to investigate. What is unknown to the entire ship is that small fragments of the shard or red marker are still left behind that creates another chaotic circumstance.

The film explains much of the true events that happened right after the where the first game left off. The effort,….while still impressive is animated with less detail than other releases on the market. it’s still done in a way that is a step above video game animation style, but it is a more limited rendering style than what we might be used to. It excels in its story boarded shots and perspectives that get pretty busy at times with explosions, monsters running about and people dying off in the back ground.

Story-wise, it gets a little confusing at times trying to get comfortable with the references and mythology aspect that it interweaves itself in. This is due to primarily because the previous film had set the stage for some of the characters.

It seemed less gory than other releases I’ve seen but in this round, really the story was the focus rather than mindless blood shedding and carnage. It definitely is a science fiction / horror hybrid that mixes the 2 together quite nicely. I would have loved to have seen more detail though just for visual experience. Some of the characters, seemed expressionless at times combining with quirky movements which is all a part of the animation style.

In all, its a pretty good experience, though I think its going to work better for limited range of viewers than for the entire horror crowd…gamers most likely. Viewers are probably recommended to check out the first release before really digging into his one…as it will install some basic plot premise into a more fluid viewing experience.

Dead Space Aftermath (2011)