Scores high on Horror but low on Sci Fi.

Rating: Null/10 (19 February 1999)

I'm sick to death of all the 'postmodern' so called horror films coming out lately that think they're being 'ironic' so I thought I'd check out this good old fashioned science fiction horror flic. I chose it over Sphere basically because it didn't have Sharon Stone in it.
After half an hour I was almost ready to turn it off. It's not that it was dragging out cliche's - I was prepared for that - it was just the lacklustre nature in which it was doing it. The explanation of space-time travel was completely unconvincing. But about the time that Sam Neil begins to show that there is more to his character than at first seemed, my interest started to perk up. By the time 'baby bear' was in the airlock with his insides trying to escape his skin, I was finally drawn completely into the film.
From that moment on it's basically a thrill ride to the end. With various members of the crew seeing gruesome images and experiencing gory deaths. It's the gore that makes this film standout from more artistic ventures like 'Alien'. It may be a base level approach, but it worked effectively on me. There is always the threat of unimaginable horror that awaits the crew throughout the film. I think it's this threat more than the actual gore that is scary.
It's a quality ensemble gathered to deliver the script, but only two of the actors really stand out. Sam Neil enjoys the chance to play on the duality of his character in the role that Gary Oldman usually seems to play. He has the sort of character that can transcend the dialogue, and he does well.
Talented English actress Joely Richardson - who was moving in 'Hollow Reed' and naked in 'Lady Chatterly' - is the other that stands out. She manages, where the others fail, to almost make her character three-dimensional and believable, despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of a trite back story that the other main characters have.
6/10 - The unconvincing science fiction build up lets down what is actually quite an exciting little horror movie.