La face cachée de la Lune

I caught this film late night back in the 90's, when this old low budget horror films were actually done very well. Only saw it the one time back in the day, but bought it recently and gave it another watch. It is a pretty good horror film set in space and I like the supernatural flair added to it. I know Event Horizon is also a supernatural horror set in space and I got that one too. Wanted Nightflyers, the 80's movie, but looks like that one has yet to be released on DVD. I know a lot of people hate that one, but I thought it was pretty cool and totally surprised I found this movie on DVD and not that one. This one is a bit less well known.

So the story pretty much starts quickly as it is the year 2022 (wow, next year) and a crew that repairs satellites armed with nukes has some complications. Let me reiterate that, it has complications right out of the gate as there is no chatting, no backstory for each crew member and no kitty cat...they should of brought a cat along! The ship's computer, which for reasons unknown is a sexy gal sitting in an office chair claims the ship is fine, but things are not fine as life support is failing! Another ship approaches, seemingly piloted by someone and they manage to get air from it and they find the corpse of a man and soon the crew of the imperiled ship begin getting taken over one by one as something sinister is at play!

The cast is pretty good, not an A list ensemble, but they definitely know what they are doing. The sets are pretty good too, a lot of the films around the time this film were made do a better job of creating a spaceship than they do now. Granted, there is no explanation as to why there is gravity in the space shuttle. I can chalk up the gravity in the main ship as because it is so futuristic, but not the shuttle that was apparently from 1992.

So, the film was good, a good atmosphere and the music accompanied it well. It pretty much shoots out of the gates as the crew is in trouble almost immediately. Some gore is present, but this film does not particularly rely on that, more on the whole paranoia thing as anyone could be harboring the evil except for the main guy whom we see pretty much all the time. The film is not the greatest piece of work, but it was entertaining for what it was.

I have seen this movie twice and although the actual plot could be deemed as a little far fetched, it really works.

Basically, after a systems failure a ship gets trapped upon the darkside of the moon, where all kinds of weird goings on begin to take place as slowly the crew members are picked off one by one by an unseen assailant/assailants.

The actual film idea itself is excellent and it really does use darkness in the film for the right reasons and as always, desolate space ships make excellent places for horror to hide round every unlit little corner. Add the fact that there is nowhere to run and the horrible feeling of claustrophobia and you have a gem of a move that is slick, doesn't seem over-produced and has a genius idea of a story running through its core.

It is nice to see a film made to scare and not to shock.

Dark Side is quite an original story and deserves a merit for being a well written sci-fi film, apart from inheriting a B movie 'feel' about it. It parallels nicely with Event Horizon and Sphere as a movie that fits into the "crisis on a ship" genre. Joe Turkel from Blade Runner is particularly worth watching out for and Leslie the computer has interesting links with HAL from 2001.

This movie scared me senseless some ten years ago when I watched it with a friend! Thus I had no reason at all not to see it now that I got the opportunity to watch it again!

My opinion of it now, ten years later? Well, of course it is not at all as scary, but it is not that bad! I've seen several space-thrillers not getting anywhere close to this one. Nice claustrophobic atmosphere through the entire movie and an ending not too predictable!

If you're bored and want something to watch to pass time, this is a very good choice in my opinion.

In the year 2022, SPACECORE 1 is a space vessel with a crew trained to repair nuclear-armed satellites. They are on their way to one such satellite near the moon when the ship suffers a mysterious systems failure. Without power and running out of oxygen fast, they also must worry about drifting towards Centrus B-40, otherwise known as the dark side of the moon. Not long into their dilemma, an old NASA space shuttle approaches and docks with their ship. Despite no signs of life on the shuttle, the SPACECORE crew need oxygen, so the captain and his second in command board the battered craft. They get the oxygen that they need, but they also get more than they bargained for when they discover the corpse of a NASA astronaut with a triangular hole in his stomach. Bringing the body back to their ship turns out to be a dire mistake, as something pure evil is using the dead man as a host.

This is an excellent little sci-fi/horror gem that is far too under seen. The plot having to do with the dark side of the moon (obviously), the Bermuda Triangle, Satan, paranoia and possession is one of the most original I've ever come across. This thing has more imagination than years worth of big budget blockbusters put together. The execution is solid too, as the mystery unfolds amidst an eerie mood and seriously foreboding atmosphere. The film's look is appropriately dreary, a perfect fit for the bleak tone of the proceedings. Despite a tight budget, the effects are also well done.

All around, this is one of the creepiest space films I've seen. A key asset in making it so is the film's score. Special mention to the opening credits, which are played against a screen of fire as the haunting score plays over them.

The acting is fine and all of the characters are likable to some extent. Even Jennings, the hick with a screw loose, is appealing in an off the wall kind of way. Joe Turkel of Blade Runner and Kubrick fame is here as Paxton Warner, as is Robert Sampson from Re-Animator.

As the film spirals towards its finale, I was completely enthralled. The ending is a great one, and very much in tone with the rest of the film. The final shot and voice-over is classic, and pretty damn eerie and hopeless all at the same time.

This is a great film, one that deserves more recognition. I recommend seeking this out if you can. Its quite a shame that it flies below most people's radar.