Oxygen

Making a name for himself in the horror field with the likes of High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D and Crawl, French director Alexandre Aja takes a different route with his newest outing Oxygen, with this Netflix acquired claustrophobic thriller a more dialed back affair for the boundary pushing director who even showcases a much softer side to himself than his shown previously.

Taking the Buried/Devil approach to proceedings as we spend Oxygen's 100 minute runtime confined to a life supporting medical pod with Melanie Laurent's Liz, who has awoken with no memories of who she is or how she came to be stuck in the pod with a quickly dwindling supply of air, Aja's well-filmed ride may not always be the pulse-pounding thriller it wants to be but thanks to some inventive directing and a committed leading lady, this sweat inducing ride will keep you engaged throughout.

Starting off relatively slowly, with us and Liz trying to figure things out and wondering why we should care for her plight to survive with nothing more than an A. I computer known as MILO to help her, Oxygen does start to ramp things up around the half way mark with more knowledge about what is going on and how Liz came to be found in such a predicament helping the film out in a big way as we all of a sudden start to ride every bump and fall with Liz as her oxygen dwindles and her quest to survive feels more pressing with every passing second.

With strong visuals (and a scene that will go down as one of the years best as we catch a glimpse of Liz's external surrounds), a great score by Robin Coudert and some neat little horror throwbacks from its director, Oxygen feels like a polished and professional offering and a level above other similar Netflix released offerings, ensuring that its high concept idea is bought to life in a strong and satisfying way.

It's not too say the film is able to reach the highs of some of its other similar counterparts, there are numerous moments where the film feels bogged down by repetitive situations and stretches of unengaging scenarios but despite not being able to reach grand heights, Oxygen is a thriller worth checking out and a nice example of Alexandre Aja trying his hand at something a little different from his usual staple.

Final Say -

Ramping up in its latter stages and featuring a great central turn from its leading lady, Oxygen is a solid thriller that might not grip you through its entirety but has enough solid moments to make it worth your time.

3 lab rats out of 5.

As this film opens a woman wakes in an airtight medical cryogenic chamber. She has no idea who she is or how she got there... or even where 'there' is. The unit is controlled by an artificial intelligence called MILO; this informs her that due to an unspecified problem she is rapidly running out of oxygen. If she is to survive she will have to recover enough of her memories to learn about the situation she is in... and avoid some of MILO's attempts to make her little remaining time more comfortable.

Going into this film I'd say the less you know the better; there are some good twists and it is best one learns facts at the same time as our protagonist. The film is, apart from a few brief flashbacks, set almost entirely within the cramped pod; this gives an impressively claustrophobic feel to proceedings. The more we learn the greater the sense of hopelessness. Mélanie Laurent does a really fine job as our protagonist; you can feel both her anguish, fear and occasional optimism as situations change. The inside of the pod is well designed; large enough for some movement but not enough for full movement. Overall a solid film for sci-fi fans who don't demand lots of action.

These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

Oxygen was a decent movie, not great. Melanie Laurent was amazing and so was the effects and the cinematography. Background music and the storytelling could have been a bit better if it had dug deep into the life of the main character.

This Netflix original movie is a one time watch, but won't disappoint. The ending was quite impressive and it kept me guessing till the very end.

My Rating : 3.5/5.

Far from pure, but don't let that contain you or hold you in, as this story of a woman reawakening in a cryogenic capsule with the breathable air rapidly depleting will have you pinned to your seat throughout, unable to escape, while conjuring a plethora of finales, endings and conclusions - any number of which quite plausible, however...

I went in to this film knowing nothing about it and that's probably the best way to watch it. There is nothing new in Oxygene, most of it rethreads old ground but as it's story unfolds it remains engaging from start to finished. This is greatly helped by Melanie Laurent's fantastic central performance. Pretty good story, lovely visuals and score and, as I said previously, a great central performance elevate what could have been mediocre fare to some decent sci-fi with a nice emotional payoff. Well worth your time.