Lifepod

I first saw this in grad school, and recently watched it on late-late-night TV. For a remake of the 1940's Hitchcock movie, with minimal early 1980's special effects and sets, the story held up surprisingly well. Worth a couple of hours to see Joe Penny and Carl Lumbly (1980's actors with mainly TV roles), and Kristine DeBell ("Meatballs" and a memorable cameo on the Harry Anderson "Night Court" TV show). Reasonably decent acting, and the "surprise ending" wasn't completely telegraphed in the plot. There was no connection to 2001, other than a talking, slightly psychotic computer. More closely related to an episode of the a Rod Serling "Twilight Zone"

The last of the Sandler/Emenegger sci-fi films comes as something of a relief to me as all of these movies have been poor quality, low budget science fiction efforts in which the level of imagination involved counts for nothing when so little money has gone into the production. They're also all entirely derivative, with this one tackling 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for inspiration.

Once again the film's main antagonist is a computer, a rather open rip-off of HAL 9000 although without the same quality of the voice acting. A desperate crew are trapped aboard a space ship with time running out (just like in ALIEN) and must figure out a way to work together in order to survive and/or escape.

Like the rest of these movies, the cast is unknown, the quality of the acting is very poor, and the script is sub-par. I appreciate that this one seems to have a little higher budget than others like LABORATORY and CAPTIVE so it's a pity they picked a script that was so derivative. For a change, it's not Robert Emenegger or Allan Sandler directing; instead that job goes to first-timer Bruce Bryant, and he doesn't make much of an effort really.

First scenes of Arcturus spaceliner and interaction of passengers with ship's computer are promising, but the movie falls apart shortly thereafter. Plot is interesting, the acting and writing just aren't up to it.

They seem to have spent most of the money on the very repetitive shots of the ship moving through space.

Life Pod is one of those films to watch out for, should it appear on your local cable station's movie listings late at night. Those who dismiss it in the first glance will miss an unusually compelling, worthwhile science fiction film that belies its low-budget origin.

Let's briefly rattle off some of it's merits:

~It's got no annoying loopholes; everything works and makes sense. Odd how a 'small' movie can sometimes do this better than a big-budget production.

~The special effects don't get in the way of the story. And there is quite good photography, too.

~The narrative itself, focuses on a human situation, rather than being pointlessly technological, or un-engaging fantasy. It's the same foundation that made 'Alien' great. People are at the heart of this movie.

~Set design is complementary in that is innocuous, unobtrusive, measured. Again, properly servile to the plot.

~The actors are all low-budget actors from TV land. Once again, a case of "less is more". They are unknowns, so they are abstracted for the viewer, and this allows for fluid, accessible characterizations.

~Pacing is efficient, economical, simple, and linear, with no waste. The director takes us exactly to the emotional climax comfortably and confidently.

With all that said, I think its just a great little sci-fi story: an intriguing plot that, humbly executed in a no-frills manner, sticks with you over time. I would love to have this in my collection.

I'm going to throw some love to this movie. I first saw this almost 25 years ago on a Sunday morning. The graphics even in the day were not top tier. However, I did like the plot.

It's 2020 and the patina of age has treated this kindly, IMHO. The storyline is a luxury liner, the Arcturus, is on it's maiden voyage to Saturn and a malfunction has occurred which has required to abandon ship, a hairy idea if you consider life pods in space going who knows what direction. What has caused the malfunction is the question that gets answered at the very end. A life pod that has escaped the Arcturus, containing a ship's lieutenant, various passengers, and the head of the Whitestar line is being pursued but the ship itself while the captain remains on board, not in control, wrestling with the central computer that controls it.

This is a movie that with the right exposure could be something of a cult classic. I think the acting is pretty good, especially Christopher Cary, the captain. Like every good Sci-Fi movie, they lend a believability that allows a willful suspension of disbelief. The design of the Arcturus is pretty good, the robots in the film are believable, the launch and movement of the Lifepod are well done, and the interaction of the cast are good. They set out to make a believable movie given the limitations of the money (obviously) and I think they did a good job.

This is a movie you can find on Amazon Prime. Give it a try. You'll either turn it off in the first 20 minutes or you'll enjoy the ending.