The only thing I love more than being scared senseless is a high quality sci-fi film. I regret to inform you that Apollo 18 is NASA’s interplanetary rip off of The Blair Witch Project. In 1974 three American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon. Decades later footage of their mission has mysteriously resurfaces to document their discoveries. Three relative unknowns to the big screen, Warren Christie, Lloyd Owens and Ryan Robbins play the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed astronauts. With very little time spent getting the audience acquainted with who these men are on Earth, Apollo 18 works harder at establishing the characters’ patriotism, inner circle camaraderie and sense of duty. With scene after scene of the astronauts maneuvering through the shuttle’s cramped quarters, a movie hasn’t made me feel this claustrophic since Buried. But if I’m going to gasp for air for over an hour, I demand something in return. After the men reach the moon some of the things they were told about why they were sent there are not adding up. This film had every chance to be suspenseful, terrifying and innovative. After all, movies about outer space, man’s undiscovered territory, have no creative limitations. Unfortunately, Apollo 18 chose to mimic the cinematic styles of four “scary” movies that came before it (The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Rec, TrollHunter) and the original which was done ten times better!

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