Escape Pod

While I am not generally overly keen on sci-fi movies in general, I do occasionally sit down to watch them. And I have to say that the cover for the 2023 movie "Escape Pod" was certainly interesting enough to make me stop and take notice. Now, I had never heard about this movie from writer and director Aaron Mirtes, so I didn't know what I was in for, nor what to expect. So in a way, writer and director Aaron Mirtes had every opportunity to entertain and bedazzle me.

The movie has a very small cast ensemble. I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. But I will say that the acting performances were fair enough. Sure, this was not award-winning performance levels, but the actors and actresses fared well enough with the limitations imposed upon them.

The CGI effects in the movie looked like something that you'd see in a 1990s computer game. So yeah, they were not particularly great. And usually sci-fi movies relies on effects in lesser or greater extend to make the narrative and the world in which it takes place believable. And when you see a meteor that looked as atrocious as it did in this movie, it is just a tad difficult to buy into it.

However, the practical effects, such as the parasitic infection on the back of Gael looked rather interesting and proved to be quite a contrast to the questionable CGI effects.

"Escape Pod" is a low budget movie, and it shows. But I will say that I was somewhat impressed with what they managed to pull off here with the limited resources. It shows that the movie was made by people with the right intentions and the hearts in the right place.

I was actually positively surprised with this movie. And there was quite a plot twist to the narrative as well, which I certainly hadn't seen coming. So well played, Aaron Mirtes, well played.

If you enjoy the sci-fi genre, and don't mind low budget movies, then do give "Escape Pod" a chance. I found it to be a watchable and entertaining enough movie.

My rating of "Escape Pod" lands on a five out of ten stars.

I would really love to like this movie as it have some really good hooks from the beginning.

Who blew up the ship ?

Is the big company evil ?

Did someone sabotage the escape pods.

... and so on.

Unfortunatly, the set they filmed in, the design, objects, CGI, special effects all sinks like a lead balloon due to the small budget.

You never get the feeling that this is in outer space, as "vital equipment" like air and water equipment are made of flimsy plastic, and so is the repair equipment.

The acting is rather ok, and there is one special effect shown, that is great. After some tough decisions by the characters, we are met with one really good sci fy ending that made me wanting to give a better rating, but sorry, i just can´t.

You've seen the cover image. "Escape Pod" Yes! People are in an escape pod, escaping! Here's a sample of how low budget this movie is. They make reference to some chip that got fried, and lo and behold, that "chip" is a laptop RAM module! I would wager my cat on that. Gives you an idea of what sort of budget we're dealing with here. Did you know escape pods in the future have metal tool boxes with hammers in them? You know, because you want to make your escape pod really light and stuff. Oh and it has a bathroom, but you got to drink your water out of these bottles. Be sure to put your name on it, so you don't end up drinking out of the one that the sick guy is using! I watched this over several meals in little snippets, and had to look away when sick guy was being sick. In little pieces, this movie is watchable. In one shot, it would be a test of patience. But sometimes it's the low budget movies that make the biggest effort, and this one I feel really tried to entertain. In the end, I was satisfied. I did not expect that.