As it is customary, I must say that this is not a review of a music album but a review of The Dark Side of the Moon science fiction movie. We are continuing to dig through the obscure B horror/science fiction movies of the eighties and nineties and this is one of them. It features a familiar story with a couple of outrageous elements that make it a fun viewing. I have such disdain for modern science fiction movies filled with cheap CGI, horrible acting and even worse storylines. They are sickeningly commercial and ultimately boring.
The Dark Side Of The Moon is not such a movie. It features a really creepy atmosphere and the mystery about what’s actually happening on the ship should keep you engaged for eighty minutes. And you should prepare yourself for a bit slower pace. The script is a bit wonky but this just adds to the charm of this hidden little flick. I also really liked the ending, it was quite surprising.
Almost all of the story takes place inside decently-sized spaceships so get ready for a lot of shots of corridors and control rooms. Working on a budget, they made the most of this surrounding, cleverly avoiding big and clunky special effects that would look horrible. And the exterior shots look pretty good and believable, setting you up for the claustrophobic nightmares aboard the Spacecore 1. This is pure B movie bliss complete with Alien and The Thing vibes.
It is the year of our Lord Satan 2022 and a repair spaceship is slowly approaching the Moon’s orbit. The crew of Spacecore 1 is there to locate and repair nuclear-armed satellites. Suddenly, they suffer a strange power failure that leaves them in quite the pickle. Running out of air and heat they must quickly find a way to repair their ship. Then, they notice a reading on their radar….
It’s the little things that I find amusing, like people smoking aboard a spaceship, a staple of the eighties and nineties science fiction movies. Plus a female android dressed in vinyl because it looks futuristic and not as a dominatrix. No, not at all. While we’re on the subject, I should mention that this movie stars Joe Turkel, best known as Dr. Eldon Tyrell from the cult classic Blade Runner.
Will Bledsoe, with his Michael Paré trademark square-jaw, is our main hero trying to repair the ship and protect everyone. The thing I liked most about this movie is the atmosphere. For me, the very fact they are boarding an abandoned spaceship is enough to get me there. It’s just perfect science fiction escapism, especially if you’ve already seen all the classics. And it’s available on Blu-Ray or for streaming thanks to Unearthed Films.
If you’re looking for movies like this but with a bigger budget, I recommend you check out Event Horizon, Pandorum, Cargo and Dante 01. And if you’re looking for more science fiction B movies here are a couple: Moontrap, Stranded, Alien Cargo and Moon 44. Enjoy.
Director: D.J. Webster
Writers: Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes
Cast: Will Bledsoe, Joe Turkel, Camilla More, John Diehl, Robert Sampson, Alan Blumenfeld, Ken Lesco
Fun Facts: Will Bledsoe apparently has a PhD now and has facilitated over 1000 restorative conflict and criminal mediation encounters, trained over 300 facilitators, and received national recognition for his work. He’s currently employed at Restorative Way.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099364/
