Blu Ray
Starz/Anchor Bay 2008
Dead
Space is Electronic Art’s much anticipated horror game which is a third person
shooter and action game released for the PC and Xbox 360. It is a powerful and
immersive experience and has received rave reviews. In conjunction with the
game the back-story has been expanded into a visceral and dark full length
animated feature film.
The
film opens with the discovery of a large stone relic on Aegis 7, it is a cold,
bleak and barren world except for a small colony. Working close by is the USG
Ishimura which is essentially a mining
ship, in this future time mining has taken to the stars and entire dead planets
are pulled apart to extract ores and metals. However, it seems the captain and
others have a secret mission which is to take on board the stone relic, which
many believe has religious significance, and return it to earth.
Strange
things occur as soon as the relic is removed; the colony experiences an
immediate spike in crime with an explosion of murder and suicides. As soon as
the relic is brought on board the Ishimura, the same spike occurs. At first it
seems like some sort of “space madness” or pathogen as crew members become
paranoid and attack each other and themselves but then the dead bodies of the crew
begin to transform and it becomes obvious something else is loose on the ship.
A
small batlike creature feeds on the corpses and after injecting
something into their foreheads they transform into monsters with fangs, claws
sticking out of their sides and spikes in their palms. They have a ferocious
appetite for human flesh. The creatures also seem to take all manner of forms
depending on their original hosts and hence vary from huge bulky flesh eaters
to flying children with teeth !
As
the relic gains control of the ship, jettisoning the escape crafts and manipulating
the computer, the final battle between the small security team and the
creatures unfolds.
Dead
Space: Downfall is a startling, violent and very adult animated film. It is
beautifully made with superbly textured backgrounds and images, intense colour
and believable characters. The language is adult, the gore is quite extreme and
the plot is a mixture of everything from Aliens to The Thing. The level of gore
and the pure innovative nature of the violence is impressive, the creatures are
superbly revolting and the intensity of the film as a work of animated cinema
is remarkable. I am not one for computer games so have not seen the game so am
judging the film purely as a work of animation, and on that level alone it is
very successful. The colours on Blu Ray are amazing, there is the highest level
of clarity and the shades of greys and browns really stand out as does the
constant splatters of blood red ! When you look at the relic and see all the
small textured figures all over its grey surface, you realize just how flawless
the presentation is. I also noticed little things that impressed me such as the
textures of the planet’s surface and the various browns in their suits. All of
these qualities really showed off the nature of high definition animation on
Blu Ray.
The
sound is very atmospheric and really sustains the mood with all sorts of sound
effects ranging from the sounds of the creatures attacking to doors opening and
closing.
Extras
include some trailers, an isolated soundtrack and the Art of Dead Space which
includes conceptual paintings, sketches, CG models, comic book pages,
background art, and schematics.
Dead
Space: Downfall also includes a portable copy of the movie on a second disc.