Dead Space: Downfall [2008]

December 9, 2009

I tend to avoid animated movies like Dead Space: Downfall but the spaceship setting and horror atmosphere made me check it out. The reason why I don’t like them is the style of animation. It feels cheap and commercial to me like they’re trying to grab a quick buck based on the popularity of the Dead Space video game franchise. Oddly enough, I have played all games and was especially blown away by Dead Space 2. Stomp, stomp, stompy stomp!

And while Dead Space: Downfall feels like an Alien rip-off, both beneath and on the surface, there are a lot more things going on. This is a prequel to the video game series and explains how Necromorphs came to be. And the origins of the Red Marker. Now, if you’re not a gamer, don’t worry, Dead Space: Downfall works very well as a stand-alone movie. The story has this universal science fiction appeal with a lot of horrors to spice it all up.

Now, the animation obviously could be better but it’s quite effective. And once you get into the mood of things, you will hardly notice that it’s a bit lower quality. There are so few animated horror or science fiction movies that this one is a must for the fans of the genre. I can only think of Harlock: Space Pirate but that’s a more tame and spaceship-oriented experience. If you’re looking for live-action movies like Dead Space: Downfall I recommend you check out Pandorum, Doom, and Infini. All of the feature similar themes and are definitely worth watching. However, I must say that Event Horizon is probably the best match.

It is the year of our lord Isaac Clarke 2508 and humanity has spread all across the universe. We use huge spaceships Planetcrackers to harvest resources from dead planets. One of these operations is unfolding right now on the planet Aegis VII. Church of Unitology is illegally mining the resources here and they’ve been at it for two years now. However, they will soon discover something that will put a stop to the operation and change the universe forever.

There is a lot of swearing and graphic violence in Dead Space: Downfall and I love it. It feels so strange to see this type of content in a “cartoon” but here we are. One thing puzzles me, however. With all that blood and severed body parts, there is not one scene with nudity. I mean, they could go for the whole package while they’re at it. With a running time of 1 hour and 14 minutes, Dead Space: Downfall is a great warm-up movie. Especially if you like science fiction and horror.

Finally, you can also check out Dead Space: Aftermath, featuring the same crew following up on the story. The movie ends exactly where Dead Space 2 begins, so if you’re looking to revisit this awesome video game, it’s a perfect choice.