Godzilla vs. Kong Movie Review

Here's what you need to know; when a sudden and seemingly random attack throws Godzilla's heroic status into doubt, Monarch is baffled as to why humanity's saviour has turned against them, and Apex Cybernetics jumps at the chance to save the world. But for Apex's plan to be effective against Godzilla, they enlist the help of ex-Monarch scientist Nathan Lind and Kong, who Lind believes can guide them into the Hollow Earth, where the key to stopping Godzilla lies. But when this insane plan causes Kong and Godzilla to cross paths, the ensuing duel will settle a millennia-old rivalry and decide, once and for all, who is the true King of the Monsters. 

Godzilla vs Kong is a film that exists, I know, I can hardly believe it myself. When Godzilla: King of the Monsters released in 2019, I went on a full-on Godzilla bender to hype up for the release, and reviewed a bunch of Godzilla films, both old and new, on this here blog. In 2021, when GVK released, I planned to do something similar, reviewing King Kong movies instead, with some Godzilla and a bit of Gamera thrown in for good measure, the first of these reviews for 1953's The Beast From 20'000 Fathoms was published, but the rest were never finished, and of course, I never finished my review of GVK either despite my inevitably extreme excitement for it. Well, it's been two years, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Godzilla Minus One are all on the horizon, and I've always meant to review GVK because I've always had things to say about it, so while I'm on annual leave, what the hell, let's talk Big G one more time. 

Godzilla vs Kong opens surprisingly strong, giving us perfect setups for our titular hero monsters within the first ten minutes. We see Skull Island has been left uninhabitable by a freak storm, and that Kong is being housed in a biodome that's quickly becoming unsuitable for him. We also meet Gia, a deaf girl and Kong's BFF who lives on the island under the care of Monarch scientist Dr. Andrews, whose concern is that taking Kong off Skull Island will expose him to getting stepped on by the King. Following some opening titles, we are introduced to the other half of the film's story as Bernie, a paranoid podcaster working undercover in Apex Cybernetics, a totally not evil robotics company, bears witness to one of their facilities getting flattened by Godzilla, which, I'm not going to lie, is an insanely awesome moment, one of about nine that this film has. In the chaos, he also gets a glimpse of an expectedly suspicious project deep in the bowels of the facility which becomes a lot more relevant in the film's finale. One thing GVK deserves praise for is how to the point it is; more so than previous Monsterverse films, GVK has a clear understanding of what people expect of it; it's called Godzilla vs Kong, you're watching it to see Godzilla and Kong fight. In the first fifteen minutes, we've already seen Godzilla and Kong, by the half-hour mark, they have their first fight, and in that time, we already have a solid understanding of stakes and characters. 

On Team Kong we have disgraced ex Monarch scientist and Hollow Earth expert; Dr. Lind, top Monarch scientist and monkey whisperer; Dr. Andrews, and Kong's best friend; Gia. On Team Godzilla, we have returning heroine Maddison Russel, her fat kiwi friend; Josh, and our boy Bernie. Team Kong's mission is to aid Apex Cybernetics in their plan to defeat Godzilla and find Kong a new home, while Team Godzilla goes down the rabbit hole and finds out what Apex is up to and why Godzilla is so mad at them. The meat of the film's story is naturally with Team Kong and their journey to the centre of the earth, encountering epic threats and equally epic revelations along the way. and this area of the story is also where the film's heart is, and that's all thanks to Gia and Kong. Their bond is not only played completely straight, but is remarkably sweet and wholesome, as Kong struggles to trust the humans accompanying him, only to open up, even smile when he sees her. It's through her that Kong's conflict is presented, he's lonely; stuck on Skull Island, the last of his kind, longing to find his true home. In the Hollow Earth, Team Kong don't just find what Apex is looking for, they find what Kong is looking for; a sense of belonging in the world, Something previous interpretations of Kong have always had stolen from them, and this is an emotionally gratifying moment for a giant monster, not bad for a monster movie. 

Team Godzilla's side of the story is a lot less exciting or intriguing, as they Spy Kids their way through underground Cyberpunk factories and get a front row seat to the ultimate in Human Power, Apex's anti-Godzilla weapon which, if you somehow don't know, is freaking Mechagodzilla, we'll talk about that later though. It's only fair that Team Kong gets the lion's share of the film's runtime as their adventure into the Hollow Earth is a lot more fun to watch, and unlike Team Godzilla, Team Kong is with their monster every step of the way, giving us plenty of time with Kong. Godzilla remains very mysterious in this film; while his intentions are clear and understandable, his character and history remain mostly unexplored, he's still a grumpy old God that gets out of bed every now and then to restore balance to the Force. What GVK does do right is justify the conflict; it would have been easy for Godzilla and Kong to fight for some contrived and flimsy reason, instead, both sides of this battle are coming from completely understandable positions. Kong wants to find his true home, Godzilla wants to assert his dominance as the King of the Monsters, Mechagodzilla and Kong are threats to his title, foes to eliminate to restore balance, while Kong is driven into the conflict both by Team Kong's quest and by Godzilla's actions. Kong enters the Hollow Earth and finds what he was looking for; a place in the world where he can belong, only for Godzilla to take that away from him, launching both Kong into a vengeful rage, and us into this film's explosive finale. 

GVK is an uncommon monster movie where the monsters are the main characters, and while I'll always be biased towards King of the Monsters, GVK has two key advantages, the first is Kong, the more well known and more relatable giant monster, the second is the film's leanness. King of the Monsters has a lot of exposition, a lot of human characters talking, a lot of deeper ideas and implications. GVK, meanwhile is a lot more stripped back, sometimes to its detriment. with a runtime of under two hours, the film flies by, never stopping to breathe, good for turning your brain off, not so good for character development, and while there are significant moral and philosophical considerations in this film, mainly to do with the creation of Mechagodzilla. The film never even tries, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good that the film is so relentlessly paced as it never gets a chance to be boring; by the time you're starting to get hungry for the next battle, we're already there, and these battles never outstay their welcome, nor do they lose the sense of scale and weight that the Monsterverse does so well. In fact, outside of Pacific Rim, I don't think I've seen a western kaiju movie do monster battles this well, it's only fitting then that the highlight of GVK is a battle in Hong Kong. Godzilla and Kong fight on three occasions in this film; first at sea while Team Kong is traveling from Skull Island to Monarch's Hollow Earth launch station in Antarctica, second when Kong climbs back up from the Hollow Earth to kick the shit out of Godzilla for trashing his new home. 

Both fights are very different, both fights give whichever monster has the home field advantage their moment to shine and the put the other in his place, be it Godzilla bullying Kong from below in the middle of the open ocean, or Kong using his agility to outmanoeuvre Godzilla in a major city with lots of buildings, not to mention putting his sick new axe to good use, the head of which being made from a Godzilla dorsal plate. Then there's fight number three, the no more fucking about fight, where Godzilla becomes an absolute animal and leaves Kong on the brink of death and with a dislocated arm. Kong starts this round with the advantage, but once Godzilla gets a hold of him, it's already over, and the following beatdown would be comical were it not so brutal. By the end, you feel genuinely bad for Kong, and are left in shock by just how vicious Godzilla is, and this is the Godzilla that incinerated, crushed, ate, and then re-incinerated Ghidorah in the last film. Needless to say, as a life-long Godzilla fanatic, seeing Godzilla walk away from this fight the clear winner is very satisfying, even if him not killing Kong doesn't make sense. This is the same Godzilla that burned the head off the female Muto by breathing fire down her throat. But you see for the film's epic final battle to happen, Kong needs to live, so the King of the Monsters who never leaves a job unfinished just walks away, presumably to save Martha. 

Because now is the time for the man-made abomination to come on the scene and fuck everyone up, it's Mechagodzilla's turn to play. And getting right to it, I adore GVK's interpretation of Mechagodzilla. Apex Cybernetics' CEO Walter Simmons "had a dream" of a machine that would put humanity firmly at the top of the food chain, built from the remains of a fallen rival Alpha, powered by the radioactive beating heart of the Hollow Earth, a monster that could defeat any Titan, and was built in the image of and for the purpose of killing the Alpha Titan, Godzilla. A metal mockery that can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and it absolutely will not stop until Godzilla is dead. The scene in which Godzilla takes Mechagodzilla on alone mirrors his previous fight with Kong, only this time it's Godzilla that's getting absolutely destroyed; Mechagodzilla is faster, stronger, and incapable of feeling pain. I love the details of Mechagodzilla; the bright red that glows out of his eyes and body, the thick, black smoke that comes from his weapons and booster rockets, and the unnatural proportions, from the skeletal body to the wonky limbs and the mechanical claw-like hands. A Godzilla/Kong team-up was inevitable, after all, Batman v Superman went exactly the same way, having their clashing heroes set aside their differences for the common good. And while it's entirely predicable, it's still severely cool, while allowing the two monsters to part ways in a mutually respectful way in the end. And after getting thoroughly defeated by Godzilla earlier, Kong gets his win by being the one to kill Mechagodzilla, so the film's ending is predictably clean. 

This very clean win-win ending has me conflicted; on the one hand, it does make everyone happy; Godzilla fans have their guy win, Kong fans have their guy win, and the stage is set for both of them to meet again in the future and not be enemies, which is, of course, where Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is going, so the future is bright in the wake of GVK. On the other hand, something about the ending feels anticlimactic to me, and I think the reason why is a bit deeper inside the film. Going back to an older point on how lean this film is, it is so lean, in fact, that once the honeymoon phase is gone and you've calmed down from the awesomeness of Godzilla and Kong fighting, the film doesn't really have anything else to offer, nothing that sticks. Godzilla 2014 and King of the Monsters stayed in my head with provocative ideas and imagery, Kong: Skull Island did the same, but most of my ruminating on that film was on how I would fix it. Godzilla vs Kong meanwhile just doesn't have that, I'm never going to do an in-depth review of GVK like I did for the 2014 film because there isn't enough there. And I know this sounds silly, like I'm criticising a Godzilla film for not being smart enough, it being the easiest watch of the Monsterverse has its strengths, but I'm actually wishing it wasn't as trimmed down as it is. The best of the Monsterverse, indeed, the best of Godzilla, is when a film sticks in your head, not just when it entertains or scares you, but when you engage with its ideas. 

Instead, I'm here wanting to engage with GVK, wanting to wonder about the ethics of building Mechagodzilla, or the reasons why Ishiro Serizawa's son is helping to build it, or the implications of the great Titan War, or the roles Monarch and Apex play in this saga of monsters. All that being said, there's no limit to what you can fill those blanks with in your own head, and there's nothing stopping you from just enjoying the film for what it is, so take that one how you will. We've made it this far and I've barely discussed the human characters, well, that's another shortfall GVK suffers from, even within the standards of the Godzilla franchise. Our humans are split into two teams, two stories effectively, that eventually intersect in the climax, nothing you haven't seen before. On Team Kong though, we have two Monarch scientists, a little girl and the daughter of the Apex CEO, who definitely, clearly, obviously isn't evil and not just waiting for her chance to stab our heroes in the back. GVK is not subtle, what a shock, and the film doesn't even try to hide that the AI and robot building megacorporation that openly wants to kill Godzilla are the villains, as if the film just knows that you know already. Now why exactly would a pair of Monarch scientists agree to help such an operation? King of the Monsters had Mark Russell personally hate Godzilla because his son was killed in San Francisco, GVK never gives its characters such motivations, instead they go along with it because without them, Kong never leaves Skull Island and the film ends. How can the motivations and decisions of the kaiju make more sense than those of the humans, that's actually kind of impressive. 

Lind and Andrews are just kind of there, they escort Gia and have some cute moments with her, but she far outshines them in her interactions with Kong. The moment where she convinces Kong to help Godzilla is amazing, as she breaks through Kong's reluctance to see Godzilla as not the enemy, before telling him to be careful, leaving Kong with the choice to either walk away and let Godzilla die, or do what is right, where was this for the rest of the film? Team Godzilla doesn't fair better; Josh, the fat kiwi friend does literally nothing throughout the film, and Maddison has nothing to work with as a character without her ideologically conflicting parents. At least there is entertainment to the found in Simmons, the rich and powerful genius who wants to save humanity, you know the type, and Bernie, the crazy conspiracy theorist who is proven right at every turn, funny that. On the plus side, at the least the film having nothing deeper to say means it has nothing to say about the evils of capitalism, unlike King of the Monsters' heavy handed environmental message which has aged like milk. The same can be said of Bernie and his conspiracies, for obvious reasons, and a film where the crazy, anti-government conspiracy guy gets proven right on everything might not be the kind of message certain people would want out there, let's just leave it at that. 

Oh yeah, then there's Ren Serizawa, the son of former Monarch head and Godzilla worshipper; Ishiro Serizawa, who is working on Apex's anti-Godzilla weapon. You'd probably imagine he is given some compelling reason for trying to ruin his dad's life's work, maybe Ishiro was obsessed with Godzilla and his work, leaving Ren feeling abandoned and full of resentment, maybe Ren blames Godzilla for Ishiro's death, maybe he worked alongside Ishiro in Monarch before San Francisco and decided then that Godzilla and the Titans were too dangerous to be allowed to live. Instead, the film has nothing, literally nothing, no explanation, the son of the former Monarch lead scientist who dedicated his life to studying and understanding Godzilla, is working for the evil Megacorporation and is personally working on weaponry to kill Godzilla, and this is no big deal. There is a huge hole in this story, one of several, and while that's not new for Godzilla or the Monsterverse, previous films were held together by their dramatic and thematic tissue, which this film lacks. GVK fits right in with the Godzilla franchise with its human characters, but this is coming off of 2014 and King of the Monsters, which both told strong human and monster stories, whereas GVK has a strong monster story and a human story that's either on the cutting room floor or just non-existent, which is a shame.

I have Faith in our Creation, and Humanity will once again be the Apex Species

Godzilla vs Kong is, for the most part, another homerun for Legendary's Monsterverse, delivering jaw dropping kaiju action at a breakneck speed, and doing justice to its elegantly basic premise and central conflict. You come to see big lizard and big monkey fight and the film delivers on exactly that very well, with the best action in the series to date. It also continues the trend of giving the titular monsters more to do than just smash stuff, especially Kong whose story in this film is surprisingly heartfelt. But while the film is a triumph on the kaiju side, there isn't much else to it; its a big, dumb, epic movie that's a tremendous amount of fun to watch, but is ultimately less memorable than its predecessors. But at the end of the day, I have to admit that the things I love about this film overshadow its shortcomings, and if all you want is big monsters fighting, few films, even few Godzilla films, can match Godzilla vs Kong's sheer spectacle, and it's definitely worth watching.

GvK Month: The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) Movie Review

Here's what you need to know; an Atomic Bomb test in the Arctic Circle goes a bit wrong when physicist Tom Nesbitt is found dying of hypothermia and babbling about a monster, and when he is flown back to the States for treatment, he is met with harsh resistance and mockery for his tale. But Nesbitt's monster is no delusion, but an ancient dinosaur freed from its frozen tomb by the bomb test, one that's carving a path of destruction southward towards New York where the true horror of its existence is revealed. 

Should you be wondering why I'm opening my Godzilla vs. Kong special with this film, allow me to explain; The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is a film I remember very fondly from my formative years, but I didn't really remember the film all that much, just that there's a giant monster in New York and it dies in a theme park. That was literally it, yet I vividly remember drawing a massive picture of the monster's death, tangled in the burning wooden cage of the roller coaster, and while the film was a fuzzy, distant memory, I never forgot about it entirely, and my reaction, first to finding a DVD of it many, many years ago on a car boot sale, then to finding it on Blu Ray in HMV, was the same, I was ecstatic. However, similar to another film I'll be reviewing this month, having it on DVD doesn't mean I watched it, and so The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms sat next to Gamera: Guardian of the Universe on my shelf, patiently waiting. I watched this film for the first time in god knows how long back in October, and started writing this review for it then, but then life got messy; debilitating anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, you know, the usual, but I'm in a better place now and after neglecting this blog since Halloween and with Godzilla vs. Kong close enough to taste, what can I say, the time has come, let's talk about some god damned monster movies. 

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms opens with about as 50's monster movie an intro as you can possibly get, as final preparations are made for "Operation Experiment," the code name for a top-secret experiment being carried out in the Arctic. There is a fantastic sense of tension throughout this sequence as it slowly and deliberately builds to the big boom, splicing in military stock footage as these sorts of films do. It's here where you really get a taste of what this film is, and if you already decide by this point that you won't enjoy it, I'm not going to persuade you otherwise because for better and worse, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is a product of its time. The film really wastes no time in getting to the Beast though, as our hero and a fellow scientist encounter it in a blizzard before it buries one of them in snow, and I'll just say it, I love this sequence, seeing the Beast towering over the humans is always going to be a badass image, one that beautifully showcases the film's biggest selling point, its effects. The effects for The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms were done by none other than Ray Harryhausen, and if you don't know that name, I feel sorry for you because his work in visual effects is legendary, and like with suitmation and Supermarionation, I was raised on his work; this, Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, I have a lot of nostalgia for this kind of film making, but what kind, you ask; stop motion. I usually start talking about characters and story with my reviews before then going to effects and action, but I have to stress this aspect of this film because it really is the star of the film, which is both good and bad. 

The good is that Harryhausen's effects are beautiful, taking a model dinosaur and making it look and move like a living, thinking animal. But more than that, similar to Godzilla a year later, the Beast's integration into the effects shots is black magic, convincingly selling the size and power of the animal as it crushes cars and smashes buildings. The bad however is less an issue with the film, and more with the perspective of the viewer; I have a great amount of appreciation and nostalgia for these kinds of films, other do not, and that makes films like this a bit of a hard sell. You see, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms came out in 1953, way before the advent of CG, its monster is animated with stop motion, and it was filmed in black and white to boot, and without trying to sound harsh, there are people who just will not entertain a film like this because of those reasons; it's old, it's not in colour, it's got crappy effects, only two of which are true, and the third is subjective, of course it'll be crappy if the only thing you'll watch is a modern blockbuster. At least this film is in English, as a Godzilla fanatic, that at least clears the hurdle of people not wanting to 'read a movie.' Like a lot of the best monster movies, your enjoyment with The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms will depend entirely on your suspension of disbelief and your willingness to look at a film from a different point of view, as once you give it a chance, you'll learn that this film has some truly brilliant and memorable sequences.

There are a few standouts in my mind, from the sequence in which the Beast attacks a lighthouse, to the finale in the theme park, to the Beast's rampage through New York, all of which delivering the thrills and excitement that only this kind of film can. The lighthouse sequence and its use of silhouette is downright fantastic, while the New York rampage scratches the itch you're certain to have with some good old chaos and destruction. But while The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms completely delivers in these sequences, the film has its flaws, take a guess what flaws they are. While those monstrous moments are things of beauty, they are spread out throughout the film which, despite only being eighty minutes long, is a surprisingly slow burn, and it doesn't do the film many favours. The rest of the film focuses on Tom Nesbitt and his mission to prove the existence of the Beast, and you already know where this is going so let's not shilly-shally. The human story makes up the bulk of the runtime, as Nesbitt chases down fellow witnesses and tries to prove that he isn't crazy, along the way reclaiming the respect of old friends in the Army and making new ones with a respected Palaeontologist and his young and beautiful assistant. Of course the Army is going to end up killing the monster, of course the young and beautiful assistant becomes a love interest, and of course the Palaeontologist pays the ultimate price in his pursuit of knowledge, this film doesn't have twists or turns. 

Instead it has a story full of characters that are there to move the plot, though to criticise a film for not breaking the mould it helped to make would be a bit silly, it would make more sense to criticise the mould itself like I have done a few times before. The human plot is functional but unremarkable; Nesbitt is a charming and tenacious hero, his Palaeontologist friend, Dr Elson is at first cautiously sceptical of a prehistoric monster being brought back to life by an atomic bomb, as any sane person would be, but struggles to hide his child-like enthusiasm, also like any sane person would because hell yeah, dinosaurs, man. And it wouldn't be a 50's sci-fi movie without the love interest and as is often the case, I don't care, because sure, pretty girls are cool, but do you know what's cooler, giant monsters. One thing I feel is fair to criticise the film for though is its pacing and the introduction of the disease. As I said before, the bulk of the film focuses on the human story, but once the Beast comes ashore in New York, you're already in the final stretch of the film, as now it becomes a matter of trapping and killing it, which they ultimately do in the theme park by shooting it in the neck with a radioactive isotope, fucking woof. But the issue I have is that the film establishes that the Beast is carrying a dangerous disease, forcing our heroes to figure out a way of killing it without contaminating all of New York, and this happens right at the end of the film. 

The reveal the the Beast is a germ carrier just comes too late in the film for there to be any building of tension from it, which is a shame because it's a really cool idea, one that the film could have played with. Instead, it's an obvious afterthought that pops up at the eleventh hour and feels more like it's there to force our heroes to kill the Beast creatively, which is does do, to be fair. It all comes to a head in the finale, which I felt to be a bit anticlimactic if I'm honest. The Beast gets trapped in a theme park and shot in the neck, bad luck sets the rollercoaster on fire and the Beast dies in agony from radiation poisoning. This sequence may be sensational to look at, as is the case with the rest of the film's effects shots, but that doesn't make it feel any less abrupt. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is also very light on themes, unlike many of the films it inspired. By the end of the film, it doesn't feel like it's trying to say anything, which would be less weird if the film didn't open the way it did, it's less detached than the American cut of Rodan, for example, but even the surface level themes of a film like Gamera: The Giant Monster are absent here. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms sets itself up with a brilliant premise but doesn't do as much with it as it could have, which is one of those product of the time things I guess, and as a vehicle for visual effects, which it's fair to say it is, it completely kills it. 

No Wind Ever Made A Sound Like That

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is a quintessential monster movie, for better and for worse, but mostly for better. The film does not do anything brave or unconventional, in fact it's one of the films that wrote those conventions, and it is an absolute powerhouse of visual effects, offering some of the best work Harryhausen ever did and some truly awesome monster action. But the film suffers from many of the issues that a lot of the classic monster movies also suffer from, chiefly a shallow and slightly dull human story, the film's ending also leaves something to be desired and its pacing can be a bit wonky. But in spite of its issues, I do kind of love this film, the nostalgia I feel for it is not misplaced because at the end of the day, this film has a cool arse monster and awesome special effects, and watching a dinosaur rampage through a city is something that will never get old, I'm simple like that. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is definitely worth watching. 

Halloween Month: Dead Space 2 Video Game Review

Here's what you need to know; three years after escaping the USG Ishimura and destroying the Marker, Isaac Clarke wakes to find himself on the Sprawl, a massive space station orbiting Saturn in the midst of new Necromorph outbreak, As the station falls apart around him, it is clear that Isaac's job isn't finished yet, and that the Marker he destroyed isn't yet finished with him. With the Sprawl swarming with a fresh batch of even scarier Necromorphs, Isaac's fight begins again, only this time against not just the monsters on the station, but the monsters inside his own head.

As I made clear in my Dead Space review, I adore this franchise, and upon replaying Dead Space for the first time in years, that adoration has returned. But I debated for a while about reviewing Dead Space 2 or not, wondering if I should save it for next Halloween, but by the fourth or fifth hour as my dormant love for Dead Space reached new heights, it dawned on me that I probably wouldn't be able to wait another year, so here we are, reviewing one of the best video game sequels and one of my all-time favourite games, Dead Space 2. 

Dead Space 2 does not open with a bang, not at first anyway, instead it opens with a glimpse into Isaac's head as he is interviewed about his experience on the Ishimura. In Dead Space 2, Isaac is no longer a silent protagonist and undergoes a character arc throughout the game, so it's very fitting and very humanising to reintroduce him at his lowest low; tied up in a straitjacket and suffering constant nightmares and hallucinations about the Marker and Nicole who, in case you somehow don't know, was dead from the beginning. Don't think that means Dead Space 2 is slow to start though, because after that little bit of catch up, he gets woken up by some poor guy who never gets the chance to tell him what's going on before being forehead raped by and infector, turning into a Necromorph right before our eyes. What ensues is yet another nail biting chase sequence as Isaac once again runs for his life, Necromorphs closing in from practically every direction. This introduction isn't quite as intriguing or panic educing as the intro to the first game, but it does take its time a bit more than the first game which is good, it actually tries to build a bit of suspense, while also letting you get to grips with the mechanics. It takes a surprisingly long time for Isaac to get his hands on a weapon, with Isaac spending the first ten minutes or so literally unarmed before getting his hands on a kinesis module and eventually my baby, the Plasma Cutter. All this while you're walking around this spooky space hospital in the middle of a Necromorph outbreak, which is as violent and creepy as it sounds, it's good stuff. 

The first Dead Space's story was not the star of the show in that game, it wasn't a bad story, but it took a back seat to world building and atmosphere. Dead Space 2 on the other hand has a very prominent story and it's actually a really good one. Isaac Clarke's newfound voice gives the game a chance to develop him a lot more, and it does exactly that. Isaac starts the game as a broken man, clearly having been affected by the shit that happened in the first game, as well as suffering from the effects of his exposure to the Marker which tortures him in the form of an uncanny, distorted ghost of his dead girlfriend. His curse hasn't made him any less efficient though as he manages to survive the initial outbreak and builds a Plasma Cutter, and when told to aim for the limbs, he says he's had a lot of practice, badass, total badass. Isaac Clarke is a very compelling hero in Dead Space 2, he is a man on a very simple mission; find the source of the Necromorph outbreak and destroy it, and on the way he makes friends and enemies, narrowly avoids a horrific death countless times, and battles his way to the source which, unsurprisingly, is a Marker. This is no ordinary Marker though as to my delight, Dead Space 2 digs even deeper into the lore of the series and how the Markers work. We'll get to that, but back to Isaac, it's easy to say that he's just a normal guy, he was just some guy in the first game, but in Dead Space 2, that's not entirely the case because Isaac Clarke is basically Ellen Ripley. 

The engineer is dead and in his place is a monster hunter, one who knows his enemies well and will take them all on, no matter how much they scare him, I'm telling you, total badass. The game explores Isaac's mind in a very compelling way as the effects of the Marker worsen, triggering violent hallucinations that force him to confront his guilt of not being able to save Nicole. This personalises Isaac's quest as he's not doing it because he's a hero, he's doing it because he feels it's his duty and his way of finding peace. This is where the friends he makes on his quest come in, Stross and Ellie. Stross is an interesting fellow; having also been exposed to the Marker and having been left a twitchy, delusional mess who mumbles constantly about "the steps." Stross is, in many ways, the logical extreme of Isaac, as he talks to his visions and becomes more and more violent and psychotic, ultimately losing any focus he had on stopping the Marker and becoming another mindless victim of it. On the other end of the spectrum is Ellie, a survivor Isaac encounters and in whom he sees a chance at redemption. These two make a really nice contrast and are reflections of Isaac's struggle; the former being what happens if Isaac fails, the latter being the hope that he succeeds and the chance that he can save someone this time. And these are really likable characters too, it's fun to watch Stross go from awkward and pitiful to more dangerous and threatening as his mental state worsens, while Isaac and Ellie start to form a really sweet friendship as Ellie warms to him and starts to trust him. 

And should you be one of those types who get a bit squeamish at that thought of a woman needing rescue, don't worry, because the first time you meet Ellie, she's ripping apart Necromorphs with a Plasma Cutter, and her first interaction with Isaac is her threatening to kill him if he tries to attack her. The game has other characters but these are the stronger offerings, because the rest of the cast isn't quite as strong. Early on Isaac is in contact with Daina, a Unitologist telling Isaac what he wants to hear to get what she wants. All the while he is on the run from Tiedemann, the director of Titan Station and the game's human antagonist who wants Isaac dead for the threat he poses to Earthgov's Marker building operations. Tiedemann isn't the strongest antagonist, only infrequently video-calling Isaac to tell him the usual about him not allowing him to escape and not getting in the way of his plan. The other antagonist is the Marker, presenting itself to Isaac as a hallucination of Nicole, and this is a little stronger, but not much. This subplot hinges on the relationship Isaac had with Nicole and the guilt and responsibility he feels for her death and while the latter is strong, the former is not. The weak point here is that we don't really know who Nicole is, Isaac eventually confesses that his clinging to her memory is out of fear that if he lets go, he'll have nothing left, but their relationship was never really explored in the first Dead Space and it's not really explored in this one either. Nicole is ultimately a manifestation of the Marker and a reminder of Isaac's guilt, making her a good plot device in his struggle against the Marker and his redemption with Ellie, but that's all she is, a plot device as their relationship just isn't that deep or compelling. 

And then there's the Marker itself, which you don't see until the game's final moments this time, but Dead Space 2 takes the groundwork of what made the Marker so intriguing and scary in the first game and makes it even better. Dead Space 2's Marker is a full-on antagonist this time, both in its manipulation of Isaac through Nicole and through audio and text logs that detail its creation. Dead Space 2 portrays the Marker not just as a glowing lump of bad juju, but as a thinking entity with its own goals and plans, and Dead Space 2 further expands the lore of the series with Convergence, which isn't fully explained until Dead Space 3, but like the first game, Dead Space 2 gives you enough to keep you hungry without taking the piss. Dead Space 2 also gives you a reason for Earthgov wanting to build Markers, which you'd think they wouldn't after the events of the first game, and in a universe where humanity is resorting to mining entire planets to sustain itself, the Marker's use as a form of energy makes just enough sense, while further demonstrating the manipulative power of the Marker. Dead Space 2 also provides more context to the recurring line, "make us whole," which is said constantly and is scribbled on the walls all over the Sprawl. It refers to the Convergence, a divine event in Unitology which unifies its followers in body and mind, which sounds like typical religious doctrine until you factor in the Necromorphs, then it takes on a whole new dimension of creepy, playing deviously with Dead Space's knack for body horror. 

Not that there was anything wrong with Dead Space's story, but the sequel is truly on another level; it has its flaws like a weak human antagonist and underdeveloped relationship between Isaac and Nicole, but I still love this story and the characters that are strong are really strong. But like the first game, Dead Space 2 is a powerhouse in a few other areas; worldbuilding and presentation. Dead Space 2 leaves the dingy, claustrophobic, industrial wreck of the Ishimura behind and this time plants you on Titan Station, a sprawling (get it) space station built out of the remains of Titan, orbiting Saturn. And a creepy old mining ship this isn't, it's a shiny, high tech, futuristic civilian station with hospitals, school, shops and churches. Titan Station feels every bit as alive as the Ishimura thanks to all those little details that it doesn't need, but still has. From the returning audio and text logs you can find to details like there being balloons and toys in the hospital in the game's opening, or drawings of "our home" in the school, which are doodles the kids drew of Titan Station. You'll visit the station's civilian quarters and wander through small but decently comfy looking apartments, which is a massive improvement from the beehive bunks of the Ishimura, and from there you'll visit a retail plaza lined with shops and services, as well as train system that links the various areas of the Sprawl. The Sprawl is about as believable as I think a civilian space station could be, while it's cleaner and shinier, it's no less functional than the Ishimura as everywhere you visit has a clear and believable purpose; the hospital looks like a hospital, the school looks like a school and the Church looks like a church. 

The entire game isn't shiny and futuristic though as you'll spend a lot of time in the bowels of the station, back in those familiar dark, dingy halls with metal walls, or working around massive machines that could crush you like a bug, and the game has a good balance between the two aesthetics. You have the claustrophobic, ominous mines beneath the spotless, sterile and futuristic Government Sector, or the almost inviting and very grand halls of the Church of Unitology hiding the indoctrination centres and the frozen crypt with walls lined with ice-covered glass coffins. Every area you explore in Dead Space 2 is a joy, each twisted in a very Dead Space way; like a school you explore at one point with slightly off, overly bright lights and colours and an absolute creepfest of a soundtrack. A space pre-school that was probably already a little creepy before it was infested with exploding babies and the Pack, but we'll get to them. The aforementioned Church of Unitology is similarly awesome and similarly creepy, but every bit as fun to explore. At one point you'll visit the station's solar array, which is one of the more industrial areas, with flimsy sheets of glass between you and the vacuum of space and curving hallways with motion sensitive lights and hidden mines. But there is one area in Dead Space 2 that takes the cake, both in coolness and in creepiness, and that's the Ishimura. Oh yeah, at one point in the game, Isaac's solution to the latest problem the crew face is to power up the gravity tethers on the Ishimura, which for god knows what reason is docked on the Sprawl. 

This one level is probably creepier than the entire rest of the game combined, as you explore the decks of the ship, completely unchanged from the first game, save for the sheets of plastic and red tape. The first time I played this sequence when playing for this review, it was the most intense sequence of the game yet, and not until the final moments of the game did that intensity get topped. You will be exploring familiar areas of the ship like the flight lounge, the medical and engineering decks and the bridge, all of which is completely unchanged in its layout; you'll get on that lift from the start of the first game, then walk through the room where you found the Plasma Cutter,  you'll pass through the room you first met the Hunter in, as well as the room where you froze it, and you'll walk the length of the ship under the tramline. The Ishimura is also one of the most suspenseful areas of the game as it take a while for any Necromorphs to even show up, for what feels like hours, you'll just be exploring the ship, waiting for them to appear. You'll find audio logs of people researching the goop on the ship, which they're horrified to learn is human tissue, or logs from one of the clean-up crew who requests a transfer because he's convinced the ship is cursed. This level is just awesome, it's easily my favourite sequence in the game and I have a big smile on my face when Isaac ascends that service lift into the Ishimura's shuttle hanger. 

Part of the reason the Ishimura sequence in Dead Space 2 is so effective is undeniably the novelty of the setting, but the sequence's initial absence of enemies goes a long way to letting that setting speak for itself, and it's one of the most suspenseful stretches in the game. Because like the first game, Dead Space 2's horror is a little inconsistent, but in a good way. The game has an amazing atmosphere when nothing's happening; dark, gore covered hallways and rooms, the distant sounds of screams and roars echoing through, it's brilliant. Then a Necromorph will appear and just like in the first game, everything gets super loud and over the top, loud music and Necromorph screaming will instantly be assaulting your ears. And just like in the first game, this happens very quickly, often in the form of a jumpscare as a Necromorph bursts through a nearby wall or door. But just like in the first game, these jumpscares never bothered me, they either got me or made me laugh. Dead Space 2 has considerably more Necromorphs than the first, and these sequences get even more ridiculous in this game as a result. But again like the first game, there are some really effective moments in Dead Space 2, like the school and the Ishimura, and while the Sprawl is a less creepy setting overall, the game hasn't lost any of that haunted house vibe, it's great. However, I do think the Ishimura was creepier, which is probably down to it being a dingy old mining ship, as opposed to a more modern and clean civilian station, that might just be down to preference. 

But where would this horror game be without some monsters and unsurprisingly, Dead Space 2 has some pretty awesome monsters. The Necromorphs return from the first game and among them are some new and freaky forms. The Slashers, Leapers, Lurkers, Pregnants and alike all return and are mostly unchanged, but Dead Space 2 introduces some new monsters like the Pack, infected children that swarm you in groups and the Crawlers, infected baby suicide bombers that explode if they get close enough. You encounter both of these Necromorphs in the school, what a surprise, and also what a surprise, they are horrible, but they're both pretty squishy enemies that pose more of a threat in groups or with other enemy types than on their own. The Puker is a monster with an obvious function, to puke on you, covering you in acid that slows you down and melts your health bar. The Hunter is gone but not really, replaced by the Ubermorph which is basically the same but somehow even more intimidating and panic educing in yours truly, seriously, fuck regenerators. And one particularly cool new enemy type is the Stalkers and if you've seen Jurassic Park, these guys will be familiar to you. They hunt in packs but unlike the Pack who swarm you, the Stalkers use tactics; calling out to distract you while another goes for the attack, scampering around to confuse you and hit you from multiple sides, as well as to close the gap before charging at you. 

These guys just make me smile, it's easy to tell when you're in Stalker territory and they strike a perfect balance of being unsettling and cool, there's just something creepy about how they poke their heads out and look at you. In addition to the Brute, the game also introduces the Tripod, a similar mini-boss type enemy that's very annoying to fight with its hopping around and spindly, harder to hit limbs. But the Tripods being annoying doesn't really detract from what is yet another really good enemy line up, Dead Space 2's Necromorphs are every bit as gross, mean and awesome as they were before, but there is one area where the game makes a change for the worse and that's the final boss. In the first Dead Space, you go down to the planet and fight the Hive Mind, a building sized monster that emerges from the planet's core, and in Dead space 2 you go to the Government sector and fight the Marker. That's right, the game's final boss is an inanimate stone, a sentient, evil stone, mind you, but still a stone. Except it gets worse as to hurt the Marker, Isaac has to kill the form it has taken inside his head, did I mention that the fight takes place entirely inside Isaac's head. It's a very thematic fight, don't get me wrong, there's a lot to take away from it like Isaac finding peace and overcoming his guilt by literally killing it, over and over again, and killing himself if it so much as touches him, but it's certainly less spectacular than a giant monster and a falling continent. 

But whether you're shooting at a giant monster or a bad drug trip, one other thing that wasn't lost was the game's fantastic weapons and combat, so that's something. As with the first game, the bulk of Isaac's weapons are industrial tools, from the returning Line Gun, Ripper and Force Gun, to a devastating new Detonator that lets you place explosive traps, and a Javelin gun that lets you skewer Necromorphs to walls. Then there is the Plasma Cutter of course, the first gun in the game and easily the best, except now it's better because you can upgrade it to set enemies on fire, and even better still, the game also has the Plasma Cutter from the first game, which, while functionally identical to the Dead Space 2 Plasma Cutter, also makes it redundant because it's the Dead Space Plasma Cutter, fuck yes. Dead Space's only gun, the Pulse Rifle also returns and has a shiny new grenade launcher alt fire to replace whatever it had before, but now it's joined by the Seeker Rifle, a super accurate long range rifle that I barely used because why would I when I have a Line Gun. All of these weapons have alt fire modes like they did before; the Line Gun still shoots mines, the Plasma Cutter still rotates, and the Detonator has a very handy feature that lets you disarm the mines you place and pick them back up. Just like before as well, you upgrade your weapons and rig with Power nodes at the Bench and buy and sell shit from the Store, with only little changes like a better Store UI and the option to respec your upgrades. 

Your rig is also mostly unchanged, your health is still displayed in your back, carrying on that unique and genius gimmick from Dead Space, you still have a Stasis module for environmental threats and Necromorphs, only now it recharges on its own and can be replenished with a button push just like health, making it a lot more practical to use. Kinesis is also a lot more practical now, with you being able to upgrade the damage it does and therefore, should you want to, pin a Necromorph to a wall with another Necromorph's or even its own arm *cackles maniacally.* Dead Space 2's changes are all little but serve to make the game more fun, another change is how the suits work; whereas in the first game suit upgrades gave you more inventory space and better armour, in this game, different suits give you different perks like damage buffs for certain weapons or Store discounts, letting you pick the suit that best fits your preferences or even just the coolest one if you don't care that much. But just like in the first game, you need to find schematics for everything before you can buy them, so there is still that element of exploration as you hunt for those schematics to get the next suit or weapon. One big change to the rig though is how it works in zero gravity, in the first game, you would have to jump from surface to surface, effectively making whatever surface you landed on the ground, it was fine but it was obviously clumsy. In Dead Space 2 however, you have full three-hundred-and-sixty degree movement in zero gravity environments, letting you fly around like Iron Man, an ability made less vomit educing by the option to reorient yourself with the ground at any time. 

This is a big improvement from the first game, even if it gives you a bit more of a headache, and the game really has fun with it too, featuring several sections of solving puzzles and dodging deadly machinery in zero G, which is undeniably cool. This does come with a catch though, and it's good for me because Dead Space 2 gives you more air. One of my biggest anxieties in games and in the real world is working against a strict time limit and as such, the vacuum areas in the first game always made me hold my breath, which I'm sure was the idea. In this game though, there's one area where you have to take down a massive Necromorph zit that's throwing explosive squid things at you and then realign some big arse mirrors, and if this task was supposed to be stressful and intense, having a good three minutes worth of air  and air refills everywhere didn't help that. In the first game, I wanted to get these sequences over with a quickly as possible but in Dead Space 2, I dawdled in these areas very often, flying around and soaking in the game's gorgeous visuals with a not very Dead Spacey feeling of freedom. It's a decent way of summarising the changes to Dead Space 2 though; it's smoother, more fun to play but less creepy and oppressive, it's bigger and better but not as scary, and do you know what, that's ok. It has its creepy moments still and the joy of cutting down its space zombies isn't lost at all, in fact it's stronger than ever, but it is worth it to go into the menus and set aiming to classic, just something I thought I'd bolt on at the end. 

But We Never Expected This Many Bodies

When looked at purely as a horror game, Dead Space 2 is a downgrade from its predecessor; it has the same twisted and sadistic horror and atmosphere that made the first so memorable, as well as it's charmingly aggressive style, but the Ishimura level proves my point that something was lost in the jump from creepy old mining ship to shiny space station. But as a shooter and a piece of storytelling, Dead Space 2 blows its predecessor away, it tells a gripping and compelling story driven by the inner conflict of a broken man, it has memorable and likable characters and twists and turns that keep you firmly engaged in spite of its shortcomings, and to top it off, it has some utterly tasty world building, which I'm a sucker for. Mechanically, Dead Space 2 doesn't rewrite the script but if it isn't broke, don't fix it, because Dead Space's unique presentation and gameplay is on full display in the sequel. Dead Space 2 is an absolute blast from beginning to end and you already know what I'm going to say, it's an absolute must play. 

Halloween Month: The Wailing (2016) Movie Review

Here's what you need to know; following the arrival of a mysterious Japanese stranger in a little Korean town, the townsfolk start to show symptoms of a terrifying illness that drives them to madness and murder. Local police officer Jong-goo is on the case as the violence and hysteria spread, but when it reaches his doorstep, he is forced to resort to more drastic action to protect his family and resist the evil that has taken root in his town, action that unbeknown to him, will bring about the demise of him and everything he loves. 

I bought The Wailing on DVD about four years ago on a complete whim. At the time, I had no idea what the film was; what it was about, who was in it or where it even came from, and like a depressingly long list of films, it sat on my DVD shelf all that time, gathering dust. Fast forward to 2020 and I need a horror film for my Halloween special, and I figured that maybe I should get round to watching that one film I bought years ago, The Wailing, and if you're expecting me to gush about how absolutely amazing it is, yeah, I'm about to do that, sorry.

The Wailing's opening moments set up the mystery and lead of the film expectedly well, as Jong-goo is woken in the night by news of a murder but is easily persuaded to stay for breakfast. Once he gets to the crime scene however, the film wastes little time in establishing the threat in the form of a grisly murder scene and a catatonic, cuffed murderer, covered in blood and an ominous rash. Two things are very apparent in this opening sequence, how interesting Jong-goo is as a character, and how ominous and bleak the film's tone will be, as the sequence oozes with unease and dread right through to the title card. The film's characters aren't the most spectacular thing in the world, but therein lies their brilliance; Jong-goo is not a heroic figure, he's lazy and unambitious with a habit of showing up late for his job, he's a bit of an incompetent slob. Yet when push comes to shove, rather than being more heroic and taking the threat head on, Jong-goo is a coward who avoids getting his hands dirty at every opportunity, which inevitably becomes a problem when the peaceful little town he calls home starts seeing violent murders. He starts out ignorant and apathetic to the problems around him, but as the infection strikes close to his heart, he is forced to overcome his aversion to action and conflict to protect his family, in the process being driven to do some pretty morally dubious shit as reason gives way to hysteria and desperation.  

The film is ultimately a test of him as a man; a test of his faith and of his will and whether he can overcome his very human weaknesses, but to go further would be going into spoilers. Needless to say though, his journey takes him to some dark places, and by the end you feel the weight of his actions and choices, and his story leaves you with a feeling of tragedy that's hard to shake, it's one of the reasons this film is stuck in my head. The film is full of side characters to pad out the cast, like Jong-goo's sweet and innocent but pragmatic daughter whose innocence is gradually corrupted by the film's events, and his friends who start out as dopey and comical as him, only for the evil to start chipping away at them too. Speaking of evil, over the course of the film, Jong-goo encounters a host of strange and enigmatic people, like the charismatic Shaman his family hires to protect them and a mysterious Woman in White that watches over them. And then there's the Stranger, the old Japanese man at the centre of a whirlwind of rumours and hearsay about his involvement in the deaths. To say this guy is creepy is an understatement, but the film deliberately muddies the waters on whether he's really the evil or just a red herring, depicting him both as a twisted and malevolent being and a weak, frightened old man, making it hard to tell is he is really the evil or just a scapegoat in a confused, frightened little town. 

Further muddying things is the Woman in White who keeps appearing to him and Jong-goo, a mysterious figure who is also obviously not what she appears to be, though her role in this story is considerably more vague and open to interpretation. The same can be said of the evil itself, who's true form isn't revealed until the film's final moments. The Wailing's evil presence is a strange thing, initially taking the form of madness and a strange infection, then of a mysterious and sinister outsider, then taking a sharp turn into the supernatural in the film's second half. The Wailing has a very strong mystery surrounding its evil, one with clues that point in contradictory directions that obscure just who or what it really is, and it blends aspects of many different horror tropes; disease, insanity, murder, ghosts, demons, possession, zombies, and the town creep who has something to hide. But in addition to the more obvious barriers to entry in The Wailing is that it's not exactly a crowd pleaser. The Wailing is a very, very story and character driven film and it is a slow burn, a very slow burn. If you watch this film in search of more conventional scares, you will hate it because it doesn't have them. There is no monster or ghost that terrorises the characters, not directly anyway, instead the horror comes from the film's drama as Jong-goo and the people around him become increasingly desperate and scared, and as their peaceful and quiet lives slowly collapse around them.

Another barrier to entry is that the film is stupid long, two and a half hours, making it a bit of an investment to watch, even if it doesn't feel as long as it is. And then the final, most obvious barrier is the language barrier because the film is in Korean, which is a deal breaker for an annoyingly large portion of the horror audience, or just movie audiences in general. But this film might be a bit too dense for mass audiences to begin with because of how slow and psychological it is. The film has gore but never tries to shock you with it, you can go long stretches without really seeing anything scary, which might bore you. On the flip side though, the film spends that time developing its characters and story, and when something scary happens, the film earns it, growing your investment in the story as it unravels its horror. The scares of The Wailing come from how it corrupts the familiar and the comfortable; how a stupid story joked about by Jong-goo and his friends creeps into their real lives and starts destroying them. As the evil seeps in, they try and fail to resist and understand it, ultimately becoming tribal and hostile to anything they perceive as a threat to their normal lives. And when confronted by the evil, Jong-goo is left not knowing who he can trust or even why any of this is happening to him, further adding to the film's tragedy. But equally as satisfying as the film's horror is the conclusion of its mystery, as it becomes clear what is really going on and who or what's behind it. 

The film has flavours of all sorts of different horror films like The Exorcist, Sinister and The Crazies, and while I can see myself having a very, very hard time selling this film to others, something about it's really sticking in my head. The Wailing is open to a stupid amount of interpretation; it's ending alone could be mined for hours about just what it means, just who and what people were and whether any of them deserved it, which I think they didn't. In blending so many horror elements into it's evil, the film does a fantastic job of keeping you guessing and wondering what the evil is, like a mysterious shrivelled up plant Jong-goo finds in the beginning of the film which could be one thing that I won't spoil, but ends up being another thing entirely that I also won't spoil. That combined with the film's masterful character development sucks you into the mystery incredibly well, and I ended up being hooked on this film right up until its gut punch of an ending. The film ultimately ends with Jong-goo being forced to decide who he can believe in, with opposing parties pulling him in different directions and him being unable to trust that any of them are really telling the truth. It's a film that rewards you for paying attention and figuring out all the clues, but it's also a film that demands your patience, which isn't that hard when the film itself is so damn good. And while I didn't find it particularly scary, I have grown to love it over repeat viewings, the film is just getting better with time.

You've Already Said It, I'm The Devil 

So I might have gushed about how good The Wailing is in this review, but the honest truth is that the more I watched it and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it, to the point that I just want to watch it again, like, right now. The Wailing is definitely not the scariest film I've ever seen, but it's a rare horror film that demands you to have patience and rewards you for doing so, because by the end of this film, though I hadn't yet figured out why, something about it just made me love it. It's a beautifully dark tale about a relatable and flawed man having his faith tested and life torn apart, and its gripping supernatural mystery is absolute gold that sucks me in again and again. It's a shame that the film probably wouldn't be given a second thought by most people and to be honest, it's a shame that I never made time for it myself over the years, because The Wailing a bit special. I thought for a while about how I'd recommend this film, but ultimately my recommendations come from how I feel about a film more than how good or bad it is, so fuck it, The Wailing is a must watch. 

Halloween Month: Dead Space: Downfall Movie Review

Here's what you need to know; an illegal mining operation on the remote planet, Aegis VII has unearthed a Marker, an ancient alien artefact of great religious significance, but by the time the USG Ishimura arrives to collect the artefact, a series of sudden murders and suicides has turned the colony on its head, and many believe the Marker to be the cause. But the Marker's not finished spreading its influence as contact is suddenly lost with the colony during a mysterious attack. The faith of the Ishimura's crew is about to be challenged however as the colony's attacker finds its way aboard and a nightmarish infection begins to tear the ship apart. With the ship's security forces fighting a losing battle and the survivors being driven to madness, it's only a matter of time before all has been consumed by the power of the Marker.

Dead Space is one of my favourite game franchises and after compiling my 2020 Halloween ritual line up, I played Dead Space on a whim and was completely sucked back into it, I knew that Dead Space would have to be part of this year's Halloween Special which got me thinking, exactly how much Dead Space should I go for. I mean this is a season of spookiness, so why not just go a bit mad with the Dead Space. Many, many years ago I got a Dead Space DVD two pack for Christmas containing the two tie in movies; Downfall and Aftermath, but unlike the games, these two films have largely faded from my memory, and with Dead Space back in the forefront of my mind, I was drawn to re watch them and see if my vaguest memory of liking Downfall and not liking Aftermath was still so.

Dead Space: Downfall tells you what you already know right from the start, that this story does not have a happy ending, as Security officer Alissa Vincent records a video log telling whoever finds it to destroy the Ishimura and the Marker. We then jump back in time and down to the planet as a routine survey team discovers the Marker and the Church and CEC dispatch the Ishimura to collect it. There is something oddly captivating about this opening sequence, it does a very good job of establishing dread, which as the prequel to Dead Space, I would expect it to do, and this opening shows promise. Something that's immediately apparent in the film is the presentation, which fuses an animated style with the industrial look of the Dead Space universe surprisingly well, like the game, the film is very appealing in how ugly it is with dark, dirty environments and angular, mechanical uniforms and equipment. The film's animation is nothing special but the film is at least nice to look at, there is the film's shot composition however, which is sometimes really good, and sometimes a bit naff. The film really likes focusing on eyes for some reason, which isn't a bad thing and sometimes looks really cool, like early on in the film when one of the mining crew slices open her own neck and we see the life drain from her eye in a mist of blood. Speaking of blood, Dead Space: Downfall is violent as fuck and said violence looks great when it's allowed to, with the way the film shows blood in particular being very striking and appealing.

But while the film carries over the visual style of the game almost flawlessly, there is something it doesn't, atmosphere; the film's initial feeling of dread doesn't last for reasons we'll get to, and my best guess is simply that the jump from video game to animated movie is where the atmosphere was lost, the Ishimura just isn't as creepy as it is in the game and despite being pre Necromorph outbreak, feels less alive. Something the film does translate very well, though not necessarily for the better, is the simple characters which are split mostly into three stories; the bridge, the colony and Vincent's security team. Vincent and her team are the de facto heroes of the film and are the first to encounter the Necromorphs once they board the Ishimura and let me tell you, these guys kind of suck. Dead Space's simple characters wasn't a problem because of the game's other strengths but being a movie that's trying to tell a story, it would really help if your characters were good. Them being one dimensional isn't the problem, them being tryhard is, you have the standard fair in this kind of crew; the tank, the shit-talker and the rookie, same person, the alt chick and the assertive, fearless and blindly mission focused leader. On their mission, they also meet up with Irons, a Unitologist engineer who's the first to figure out how to kill the Necromorphs and I was far, far more interested in him than the security team. He's a devout Unitologist who understands that submission to the Marker, willing or unwilling, is inevitable but despite this, he puts the safety of his fellow crew before his faith and takes up arms against the Necromorphs. 

He dies, obviously, but his death might be my favourite scene in the film as he gives Vincent time to help some trapped survivors and goes down like a complete badass, killing as many Necromorphs as he can before eventually accepting his fate, uttering a final prayer with his dying words. In contrast, the security team is a collection of annoying stereotypes who say fuck like it's going out of style. In a film about religious fanaticism, monsters and an evil space rocks, these characters come across as immature and tryhard, as if they were written by an edgy teenager. In contrast however, the parallel stories on the colony and the Ishimura's bridge are a lot more compelling. The bulk of the bridge story consists of Captain Mathius' descent into madness and Dr. Kyne's piecing together of the mystery, and these two subplots are the most interesting parts of this film. For a time, Kyne essentially functions as the angel on the Captain's shoulder, trying to reason with him as the demon on his other shoulder; a holographic live feed of the Marker, drives him to paranoia and irrationality. These two are two sides of the same coin, with one abandoning his faith upon seeing the true effects of the Marker while the other becomes increasingly fanatical, seeking solace in the very thing that's corrupting his mind and seeing it as a test of his faith. If you've played the game, you know how this ends, and while it doesn't play out exactly the same as it does in the game, it is nonetheless a fun and intense scene, and one of the few scenes in the film with a solid amount of build-up. 

As you may also expect, the subplot of the colony ends pretty quick and isn't quite as fleshed out as my curiosity would like. Yet this part of the film does feature on of my favourite scenes, the previously mentioned sequence where one of the colonists slices open her own neck, a scene that's memorably purely because of how brutal it is, did I mention this film is hella violent. And yet this scene doesn't pack the punch I think it needed to because we don't know who these people are. This is part of the reason the conflict between Kyne and the Captain is so interesting; it's the most fleshed out part of the film, it's ludicrously short runtime of seventy-five minutes just doesn't allow for any substantial development. So towards the end of the film when one of Vincent's team does the 'buy you some time' thing, I just don't care, and that's the same as when the rest of her team bite it too, the only one with any kind of impact is Irons' death because he at least has a shred of depth. Granted, Hammond's death in the game didn't have much impact either, but Dead Space is carried by its gameplay and atmosphere more than its characters, Dead Space: Downfall doesn't have that. What it does have is appealing animation, a tasty bit of Dead Space lore, and its imagery and violence, the former of which is very strong, the latter, not so much.

It's Dead Space so obviously I'll talk about the Necromorphs and inevitably, they are the coolest thing in this film by far. They look completely amazing, and in a move that's actually better than the game, the Slashers all look different, and you can tell on a few occasions who they were before they turned, which the game couldn't do. The design of the Slashers is as cool and wretched as it is in the game, and it's undeniably cool to see them in this style. The film also features the Pregnants and the Infectors, but the bulk of the film's ghoulies are Slashers, which isn't bad at all, because they're great. One Necromorph however is actually done better in this film than in the game, the Lurker, who crawls around on walls and ceilings in the game, shooting at you with barbed tentacles. In Dead Space: Downfall however, the Lurker charges at full speed towards one of Vincent's crew on its baby legs and starts gnawing on his face. When he hurls it away from him, it charges again, this time on its tentacles like a nightmarish Doctor Octopus. It also doesn't take Vincent's team long to realise that guns aren't effective, and their makeshift weapons, the Plasma Saws, are pretty sweet, but not quite as sweet as my baby, the Plasma Cutter. It being a film and not a game, it does lose that all important haunted house atmosphere that's part of why the game is so special, but it could make up for that in its action sequences which, in all honesty, aren't terribly good. I alluded to the film's hit and miss shot composition at the beginning, but the issues with it become very clear in these sequences. 

The best way I can describe the effect is shakycam because that's literally what happens, the shot shakes as if the non-existent camera is being shaken about during filming. Why the animators saw fit to do this I don't know because it does hurt the film. The first time we see someone turn into a Necromorph, this doesn't happen and we see all the gory detail as his body is mutilated and mutated. Then there's the film's first large battle as Vincent's team take on a large group of Necromorphs, some shots are clean, some are a bit shaky but nothing too obnoxious, and then there are shots that are headache inducing as that clear and clean animation is lost in a blur of artificial movement. The film clearly wasn't made to the standard of a theatrical animated film, so maybe this was a way around the restrictions they were working with, or maybe it was done just to look cool, which it doesn't. The battle in hydroponics is another bad example of this, and it diminishes how well the Necromorphs are done in the film. The big issue is that this compounds with all the other problems; the spotty writing and poor character development, the passable animation and the runtime, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm right about this because the film feels rushed, and as though the driving force behind its production was corporate instead of artistic, which is the exact opposite of how the game feels. Again I feel that Downfall could have benefited from being longer and treating its characters better, because there is a fantastic story in here, it's the prequel to Dead Space, but it's too weak on too many fronts to do that story justice. In simpler terms, Dead Space: Downfall could be awesome, but instead it's just meh. 

Landing, Crashing or Shot Down, Pick One

Dead Space: Downfall does not reach the bar of quality established by the game, and unfortunately, it doesn't add much to said game, instead relying on Dead Space for a lot of its enjoyment value. That being said, the film doesn't suck, and some elements of it are genuinely good, like its portrayal of the Necromorphs and its near flawless translation of the game's visual style. But the film struggles to tell a strong story, which considering it depicts the downfall of the Ishimura, is a crying shame, its imagery goes some way to make up for its weak characters and at times cringy writing, but then it starts suffering in the action sequences, which are hampered by the film's opting for fuzzy, shaky action that isn't all that good to look at. Like a lot of video game universe material, Dead Space: Downfall doesn't stand on its own as a science fiction horror animation, but I can't hate it too much because for all its weaknesses, there is enjoyment to be found in the simple fact that it's more Dead Space and that it does that well enough. So if, like me, you're in love with the game, Dead Space: Downfall might be worth checking out, but I won't be breaking it out for movie night anytime soon.