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{{Short description|2009 film by Christian Alvart}}
{{For|the game based on the film|Pandorum (video game)}}
{{About||the game based on the film|Pandorum (video game)|the musician|Code:Pandorum}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Pandorum
| name = Pandorum
Line 6: Line 7:
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Christian Alvart]]
| director = [[Christian Alvart]]
| producer = [[Paul W. S. Anderson]] <br>[[Jeremy Bolt]] <br> Robert Kulzer
| producer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Robert Kulzer]]
| writer = Travis Milloy <br> Christian Alvart
* [[Jeremy Bolt]]
| starring = [[Dennis Quaid]]<br>[[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]]<br>[[Cam Gigandet]]<br>[[Antje Traue]]<br>[[Cung Le]]<br>[[Eddie Rouse]]
* [[Paul W. S. Anderson]]
}}
| screenplay = Travis Milloy
| story = {{Plainlist|
* Travis Milloy
* Christian Alvart
}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Dennis Quaid]]
* [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]]
* [[Cam Gigandet]]
* [[Antje Traue]]
* [[Cung Le]]
* [[Eddie Rouse]]
}}
| music = Michl Britsch
| music = Michl Britsch
| cinematography = Wedigo von Schultzendorff
| cinematography = Wedigo von Schultzendorff
| editing = Philipp Stahl
| editing = {{Plainlist|
* Philipp Stahl
* Yvonne Valdez
| studio = [[Constantin Film]] <br> Impact Pictures
}}
| distributor = [[Overture Films]]
| studio = {{Plainlist|
| released = {{Film date|2009|9|25|United States|2009|10|2|United Kingdom}}
* [[Constantin Film]]
| runtime = 108 minutes<ref>[http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/ClassifiedWorks/8EC74EB0656FEC5C802576390033C2CA PANDORUM rated 15 by the BBFC<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* [[Impact Pictures]]<ref name="filmportal">{{cite web|url=https://www.filmportal.de/film/pandorum_721efbdf0749462b83b9db015c9db75d|publisher=[[Filmportal.de]]|title=Pandorum|access-date=18 January 2019|language=de}}</ref>
| country = Germany<br />United States<br />United Kingdom
}}
| distributor = {{Plainlist|
* [[Overture Films]] {{small|(United States)}}
* [[Icon Productions|Icon Film Distribution]] {{small|(United Kingdom)}}<ref name="boxofficemojo.com"/>
* Constantin Film Verleih {{small|(Germany)}}
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2009|9|25|United States|2009|10|1|Germany|2009|10|2|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 108 minutes<ref>{{cite web|title=BBFC reference AFF259019: Pandorum |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/ClassifiedWorks/8EC74EB0656FEC5C802576390033C2CA | date=22 September 2009 |access-date=27 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031105704/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/ClassifiedWorks/8EC74EB0656FEC5C802576390033C2CA |archive-date=31 October 2009 }}</ref>
| country = {{Plainlist|
* United Kingdom
* Germany<ref name="filmportal" />
}}
| language = English
| language = English
| budget = US$33 million
| budget = $33 million
| gross = $20,645,327<ref name="boxofficemojo.com">{{cite web|title=Pandorum|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|accessdate=2011-09-20|url= http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=pandorum.htm}}</ref>
| gross = $20.6 million<ref name="boxofficemojo.com">{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=pandorum.htm |title=Pandorum (2009) |publisher=Box Office Mojo |date=19 November 2009 |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref>
}}
}}
'''''Pandorum''''' is a [[Germany|German]] 2009 post-apocalyptic [[ecology|ecological]] [[science fiction]] film, with elements of [[Mystery film|mystery]] and [[Survival film|survival adventure]]. Written by Travis Milloy, directed by [[Christian Alvart]] and produced by [[Paul W.S. Anderson]]. The film stars [[Dennis Quaid]] and [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]]. Filming began in [[Berlin]] in August 2008. ''Pandorum'' was released on September 25, 2009 in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=41441 |title=Pandorum |work=ComingSoon.net |publisher=Coming Soon Media, L.P |accessdate=2009-06-25}}</ref> and on October 2, 2009 in the UK.


The premise is that a massive ship which parallels [[Noah's Ark]] is lost in space almost out of power, roamed by spearweilding, scar covered, bone-spiked armored Hunters akin to [[Morlock]]s. They are physically superior to humans and this leads to a state of [[chaos]] making it every man for himself for the humans on board. The film's title is a nickname of fictional psychosis called "Orbital Dysfunctional Syndrome" (ODS for short) caused by [[outer space|deep space]] and triggered by emotional stress leading to severe [[paranoia]] and [[delirium]] along with [[nose bleed]], which prior to the current events caused the captain of a ship named the ''Eden'' to believe the flight was cursed. The mystery is centered around what had happened on the ship for it to reach its current state, what is the mission, and what the creatures are.
'''''Pandorum''''' is a 2009 [[science fiction horror film]] directed by [[Christian Alvart]], produced by Robert Kulzer, [[Jeremy Bolt]] and [[Paul W. S. Anderson]] (the latter two through their [[Impact Pictures]] banner), and starring [[Dennis Quaid]] and [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]]. Travis Milloy wrote the screenplay from a story by Milloy and Alvart. The film's title is a fictional [[slang term]] for a form of [[psychosis]] caused by [[outer space|deep space]] and triggered by emotional stress, leading to severe [[paranoia]], [[delirium]], and nosebleeds. ''Pandorum'' was released on 25 September 2009 in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=41441 |title=Pandorum |work=ComingSoon.net |publisher=Coming Soon Media, L.P |access-date=25 June 2009}}</ref> and on 2 October 2009 in the UK. The film was poorly received and a [[box office flop]].


==Plot==
== Plot ==
<!-- Per [[WP:FILMPLOT]], film plots should be between 400 and 700 words. This is currently 699 words. -->
In 2174, with Earth's human overpopulation crisis causing resources to be very limited, humanity builds a [[sleeper ship]]/[[interstellar ark]] named Elysium. The mission is to send 60,000 people on a 123-year trip to an Earth-like planet named Tanis to establish civilization there. Eight years into the mission the ship receives a transmission from earth in multiple languages before speaking in English "''You're all that's left of us. Good luck, God Bless, and godspeed''". Some time later two astronauts of the flight crew, Corporal Bower and Lieutenant Payton, have awakened in a hyper-sleep chamber by power surges aboard. Due to being under [[general anesthesia]] during hyper-sleep for eight years they have become amnesiac. Bower ventures deep into the now seemingly abandoned ship to jump-start the reactor to take control of the ship before it dies, along with everyone on board. He remembers how he was interested in the flight since childhood along with his wife being on board the ship and he is suffering from the earlier stages of Pandorum after having a claustrophobic panic attack.
After [[human overpopulation]] depletes Earth's resources, humanity builds an [[interstellar ark]], the ''Elysium''. It carries 60,000 people on a 123-year trip to colonize Tanis, an [[Earth analog|Earth-like planet]]. The passengers are placed in [[sleeper ship|hypersleep]], and a rotating crew wake biennially to maintain the ship. Eight years into the mission, the ship receives a transmission from Earth: "You're all that's left of us. Good luck, God bless, and Godspeed."


An indeterminate time later, two members of the flight crew, Corporal Bower and Lieutenant Payton, awaken. Improper emergence from the hibernatory state leaves them both with partial [[amnesia]] and possibly suffering from pandorum, a space-related disorder that causes psychosis when under emotional duress. The ship experiences power surges caused by an unstable nuclear reactor, and they are unable to enter the [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]]. While Payton stays behind to access the ship's computer, Bower uses the ventilation system to search for the reactor.
However, he encounters a [[Warrior class|warrior classed tribe]] with [[troglofauna]]-characteristics along with physical abilities above humans. They practice both [[endocannibalism]] and [[exocannibalism]], setting booby traps over the ship to hunt. He also mets two members who have become egoistic [[Lone wolf (trait)|lone wolf]] survivalists because they believe the flight crew to be dead thus resorted to survival-of-fittest tactics. The first being a cynical woman who was a geneticist in [[Brandenburg]] who has survived for months by mugging others. She initially acts aloof and hostile towards Bower, but later shows concerned about him finding his wife after he saves her life from the other survivor, an old cook who survived for years by shamefully feeding on both the hunters and humans along with algae covering the ship. Named Nadia and Leland respectively, the survivors join him when they realize that Bower can fix and fly the ship. He also finds an ally in a selfless and persistent non-English speaking agriculturist who saves him several times, named Manh.


Bower first finds a disemboweled body and a trapped mechanic, named Shepard. Shepard wakes up, startling Bower, who then frees him. Shepard mistakes Bower for a rescue team, before dousing his body in oil to cover his scent. Shepard then tells him to escape "them". Bower tries to order Shepard to tell him what is going on, but Shepard refuses, citing there is no longer a chain of command. The noise summons a group of cannibalistic humanoids who appear to respond mostly to sound. They both flee and hide but are soon found by the creatures. Shepard is killed by the group, while Bower tries to attack them with a non-lethal weapon he found earlier, which proves ineffective. He flees and continues on and encounters an environmental scientist, Nadia, and a farmer, Manh, who does not speak English; both are hostile. He encourages them to band together, and the trio flees into a barricaded chamber, where they find a cook named Leland. Leland has been awake for years, living off the water oozing through parts of the ship, the algae it creates, and resorting to cannibalism. Payton encounters Corporal Gallo, who claims the ship is lost in space and that he killed his team in self-defense.
Meanwhile, Payton encounters a strange young man named Cpl. Gallo. The corporal claims he had to kill his team in self-defense because they developed Pandorum as Earth mysteriously vanished on their way to Tanis and they are now lost in space. The aftermath is depicted on drawings on the walls of Leland's lair and he explains the cannibalistic behavior based on what he heard from others. Gallo had developed Pandorum and affected many others on board with it as the drawings depict him along with other passengers with lightning bolts around their heads, hinting something abnormal with their minds, along with blood pouring from their noses. He then [[Psychological manipulation|psychologically manipulated]] the other psychotics into exiling themselves on the ship to live a culture of fighting, where they hunted each other with booby traps and [[cannibalism|cannibalized]] the weak. Eventually, he went back into hyper-sleep, leaving the Elysium to become a [[generation ship]] and it's hinted that over time the descendants of the psychotic cannibals had evolved into a different subspecies who are apparently continuing what Gallo started with their ancestors. This was due to an [[enzyme]] given to the members through their feeding tubes in hyper-sleep that was supposed to both help their bodies adjust to the conditions on Tanis and speed up evolutionary [[ecological selection]]. Instead they [[Adaptation|adapted]] to the conditions of their low sunlit ship.


Leland feeds Bower's group and shows them mural drawings depicting what has happened: after Earth vanished following an unknown catastrophe, Gallo went insane, killed his crew, and induced pandorum in other passengers. After goading them into a violent and tribal culture, Gallo went back into hypersleep. Aided by accelerated evolution from an enzyme meant to help colonists adjust to life on Tanis, the descendants have turned into cannibalistic mutants. Leland gasses the group, intending to eat them, but Bower convinces him the reactor must be stabilized.
It is also revealed that Bower's wife left him, with nothing else left for him on Earth he enlisted on the mission to find a place in history, while she remained on Earth and vanished along with it. Which causes him to grieve to the point of giving up but Nadia gives emotional support, saying she saved his life and that humanity was meant to survive. So they move on and when the group finally reach the reactor Manh distracts the cannibals in order for Bower to jump start the reactor. Mahn is corned by their leader but refuses to die without a fight so the creature gives him a weapon to defend himself, which leads to a one-sided battle in the monster's favor. However, the creature's arrogance leads to Mahn getting lucky and manages to kill it, but he is killed when he hesitates to slay its child.


As they search the ship for the reactor, Bower hopes to find his wife in an area for family in hypersleep but remembers that she died with everyone else on Earth when she refused to join him. This revelation almost makes him give up and pushes him closer to insanity. After surviving an encounter with the cannibals, Bower's group finds the reactor. A crowd of mutants sleep under the reactor, and Bower crosses a walkway to reset it. The walkway collapses, and Bower climbs down into the mutant pit to reach a ladder. While Manh distracts the mutants, Bower restarts the reactor, killing many mutants. Leland flees, and Manh is cornered by the mutant leader. Manh kills the leader but is killed by a mutant child he hesitates to slay.
The remaining three then head to the control room to gain control of the ship, where Gallo and Payton are. There it is revealed that Payton isn't really who he thinks he is and that Gallo is Payton's hallucination of his younger self, his own memories playing mind games with him. Gallo proceeds to kill Leland who arrives before the others, and is then confronted by Bower and Nadia. Bower remembers what the real Payton looks like and knows he isn't his lieutenant. However, the ship is apparently lost somewhere in space where there are no stars and the cannibals close in on them, this causes Bower to have another panic attack and the final stages of Pandorum take effect on him. Gallo then attempts to manipulate him as he did with others who fell to the psychosis. He states that they should create a new world in a wild primitive state with the ship to replace human civilization because its moralistic altruism led to the malthusianism crisis on Earth and that they should embrace [[predation]] among each other. It's then revealed that the ship has actually reached Tanis, landing under water, and 923 years have passed since the mission started. In his delirium, Bower breaks the hull's window, flooding the ship. He manages to briefly overcome his condition, and gets himself along with Nadia into his hibernation pod. The flood triggers a hull breach emergency ejecting the active pods to the surface, while Gallo and the cannibals drown. This starts Year One on Tanis with a population of 1,213.

Gallo becomes increasingly agitated, and Payton prepares a sedative. As they wrestle over the sedative, Gallo is revealed to be a hallucination as Payton ''is'' Gallo. Gallo killed the real Payton long ago when he developed pandorum upon hearing Earth was gone. Because he went into Payton's pod, Gallo mistakenly believed himself to be Payton when he woke up with amnesia. Leland reaches the bridge, and Gallo kills him with the sedative. When Bower and Nadia confront him, Gallo opens the shutters on the bridge's windows, revealing that the ship is adrift in deep space with no stars visible. The shock pushes Bower further toward insanity. Taking advantage of Bower's mental state, Gallo argues they must maintain the violent society rather than revive civilization.

Nadia observes [[Bioluminescence|bioluminescent]] ocean life through the windows, and the computer displays that 923 years have elapsed since the mission launched. The ship reached Tanis 800 years ago and landed itself in the ocean. Bower hallucinates a mutant attack and breaks a window. As water pours into the ship, Nadia and Bower climb into a hypersleep pod and eject it. The flood triggers an emergency protocol which ejects the remaining 1,211 untainted pods to the surface, while Gallo and the remaining mutants drown. Bower and Nadia surface near a lush [[coastline]], and they witness the other pods ascend.


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Dennis Quaid]] as Lieutenant Payton
* [[Dennis Quaid]] as Lieutenant Payton/Older Corporal Gallo – The Ship's Lieutenant and captain, later revealed to be Corporal Gallo
** [[Cam Gigandet]] as Younger Corporal Gallo – A Corporal who went insane and killed his team, and believed himself to be Payton throughout most of the movie
* [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]] as Corporal Bower
* [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]] as Corporal Bower – The ship's Corporal and presumed head mechanical engineer
* [[Cam Gigandet]] as Corporal Gallo
* [[Antje Traue]] as Nadia
* [[Antje Traue]] as Nadia – the ship's environmentalist, who teams with Bower
* [[Cung Le]] as Manh
* [[Cung Le]] as Manh – an agricultural farmer, who teams with Bower and Nadia
* [[Eddie Rouse]] as Leland
* [[Eddie Rouse]] as Leland – the mentally unstable cook who has resorted to cannibalism.
* [[André Hennicke]] as Hunter Leader
* [[André Hennicke]] as hunter leader – leader of the Hunters
* [[Norman Reedus]] as Shepard
* [[Norman Reedus]] as Shepard – a mechanic whom Bower encounters
* [[Wotan Wilke Möhring]] as Young Bower's Father
* [[Wotan Wilke Möhring]] as Young Bower's Father
* [[Niels-Bruno Schmidt]] as Insane Officer Eden
* {{ill|Niels Bruno Schmidt|de}} as Insane Officer Eden


== Production ==
== Production ==
The film began life as a preliminary script written by Travis Milloy in the late-1990s. The story was originally set on a prison ship named ''Pandorum'', transporting thousands of Earth's deadliest prisoners to another planet; the cannibal hunters were the end result of the prisoners' degeneration. The characters played by [[Antje Traue]] and [[Cung Le]] were inmates. [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]]'s character was a non-prisoner who did not trust anyone.
The film began life as a [[Spec script|preliminary script]] written by Travis Milloy in the late 1990s. The story was originally set on a prison ship named ''Pandorum'', transporting thousands of Earth's deadliest prisoners to another planet; the cannibal hunters were the result of the prisoners' degeneration. The characters played by [[Antje Traue]] and [[Cung Le]] were inmates. [[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]]'s character was a non-prisoner who did not trust anyone.


Believing no studio would want to make the film, Milloy thought about making it as a low-budget film shot on video in an abandoned paper mill with unknown actors. However, it attracted the attention of filmmaker [[Paul W. S. Anderson]] and [[Jeremy Bolt]], and they gave it to Impact Pictures, who green-lit it. The producers gave the script to director [[Christian Alvart]] who was struck by the similarities to his own screenplay titled ''No Where''. His dramatic story was about four astronauts aboard a settlers' ship who suffer from amnesia. Alvart decided that they should weld the two screenplays together, and the producers and Milloy agreed. With the ship now changed to a settler's ship, the use of the word "Pandorum" was changed from the name of the ship to a type of mental illness caused by sustained deep space travel.
Believing no studio would want to make the film, Milloy thought about making it as a low-budget film shot on video in an abandoned paper mill with unknown actors. However, it attracted the attention of filmmaker [[Paul W. S. Anderson]] and [[Jeremy Bolt]], and they gave it to Impact Pictures, who green-lit it. The producers gave the script to director [[Christian Alvart]] who was struck by the similarities to his own screenplay titled ''No Where''. His dramatic story was about four astronauts aboard a settlers' ship who suffer from amnesia. Alvart decided that they should meld the two screenplays together, and the producers and Milloy agreed. With the ship now changed to a settler's ship, the use of the word "Pandorum" was changed from the name of the ship to a type of mental illness caused by sustained deep space travel.<ref name="fieldingonfilm1">{{cite web|url=http://fieldingonfilm.com/wp/travis-milloy-writer-pandorum/ |title=Travis Milloy |publisher=Fielding on Film |date=9 December 2011 |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref>


''Pandorum'' was announced in May 2008 with Quaid and Foster in lead roles. Christian Alvart was attached to direct the film from a script by Travis Milloy.
''Pandorum'' was announced in May 2008 with Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster in lead roles. Christian Alvart was attached to direct the film, based on a script by Travis Milloy. The movie was financed by [[Constantin Film]] through a joint venture deal with subsidiary Impact Pictures.<ref name="quaid">{{cite journal | first=Dave | last=McNary | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985339.html?categoryid=1238&cs=1 | title=Quaid, Foster set for 'Pandorum' | journal=[[Variety (magazine)|''Variety'']] | publisher= | date=May&nbsp;8, 2008 | accessdate=August&nbsp;8, 2008 }}</ref> The partnership helped fund the $40 million production. Constantin drew subsidies from Germany's Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) regional film fund, the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). The German Federal Film Fund provided $6 million to the production, the fund's second-largest 2008 payout after $7.5 million for ''[[Ninja Assassin]]''.<ref name="impact">{{cite journal | last=Roxborough | first=Scott | title=Impact finds $40 mil to make 'Pandorum' | url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i431ca797a370fbb2a3ea2b9931986666 | journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=November&nbsp;7, 2008 | accessdate=December&nbsp;1, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first=Christian | last=Koehl | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990076.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | title='Pandorum' secures German funds | journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | publisher= | date=August&nbsp;5, 2008 | accessdate=August&nbsp;8, 2008 }}</ref> Filming took place at [[Babelsberg Studios]] in [[Potsdam]] in August 2008.<ref name="quaid" /><ref name="impact" />


Filming took place at [[Babelsberg Studios]] in [[Potsdam]], Germany in August 2008.<ref name="quaid" /><ref name="impact" />
== Release, Director's Cut, & Sequel ==

The movie was financed by [[Constantin Film]] through a joint venture deal with subsidiary Impact Pictures.<ref name="quaid">{{cite web|author=Dave McNary |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/quaid-foster-set-for-pandorum-1117985339/ |title=Quaid, Foster set for 'Pandorum' |publisher=Variety |date=8 May 2008 |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref> The partnership helped fund the $40 million production. Constantin drew subsidies from Germany's Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) regional film fund, the {{Interlanguage link|Filmförderungsanstalt|de|3=Filmförderungsanstalt|lt=German Federal Film Board}} (FFA) and the {{Interlanguage link|Deutscher Filmförderfonds|de|3=Deutscher Filmförderfonds|lt=German Federal Film Fund}} (DFFF). The German Federal Film Fund provided $6 million to the production, the fund's second-largest 2008 payout after $7.5 million for ''[[Ninja Assassin]]''.<ref name="impact">{{cite web|title=Impact finds $40 mil to make 'Pandorum' |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i431ca797a370fbb2a3ea2b9931986666 | date=7 November 2008 |access-date=1 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206125925/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i431ca797a370fbb2a3ea2b9931986666 |archive-date=6 December 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Christian Koehl |url=https://variety.com/2008/film/news/pandorum-secures-german-funds-1117990076/ |title='Pandorum' secures German funds |publisher=Variety |date=5 August 2008 |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref>

== Release ==
[[File:Pandorum panel at WonderCon 2009.JPG|thumb|right|[[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]], [[Cung Le]] and [[Antje Traue]] talk about ''Pandorum'' at a panel discussion at [[WonderCon]] 2009.]]
[[File:Pandorum panel at WonderCon 2009.JPG|thumb|right|[[Ben Foster (actor)|Ben Foster]], [[Cung Le]] and [[Antje Traue]] talk about ''Pandorum'' at a panel discussion at [[WonderCon]] 2009.]]


Summit Entertainment handled foreign sales and presented ''Pandorum'' to buyers at the [[2009 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="quaid" /> [[Overture Films]] distributed ''Pandorum'' in North America, Icon in the United Kingdom and Australia, Svensk in Scandinavia, and Movie Eye in Japan. The film was set up as a possible franchise, so that if it performed well, Impact Pictures could [[green-light]] one or more sequels.<ref name="impact" />
Summit Entertainment handled foreign sales and presented ''Pandorum'' to buyers at the [[2009 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="quaid" /> [[Overture Films]] distributed ''Pandorum'' in North America, [[Icon Film Distribution]] in the United Kingdom and Australia, [[SF Studios|Svensk Filmindustri]] in Scandinavia, and Movie Eye in Japan. The film was set up as a possible franchise. According to Travis Milloy, it was to have a sequel and a prequel.<ref name="fieldingonfilm1"/> If it performed well, Impact Pictures could [[green-light]] one or more sequels.<ref name="impact" />


The [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray Disc]] release occurred on January 19, 2010 in the United States<ref>[http://www.pandorummovie.com/ The official Pandorum movie site]</ref> over [[Anchor Bay Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34552/exclusive-shock-festival-wallpapers-and-radio-spots|title=First Word on Pandorum Home Video Release}}</ref>
The [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] release occurred on 19 January 2010 in the United States<ref>{{cite web |author=Overture Films |url=http://www.pandorummovie.com/ |title=PANDORUM - Now Available on DVD & Blu-ray |publisher=Pandorummovie.com |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-date=10 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310013324/http://www.pandorummovie.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> over [[Anchor Bay Entertainment]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Barton |first=Steve |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/34552/exclusive-shock-festival-wallpapers-and-radio-spots |title=Exclusive: Shock Festival Wallpapers and Radio Spots |publisher=Dread Central |date=16 November 2009 |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref>


The director and producer commentaries on the DVD indicate that an unrated version of the movie exists but has not been released.
The director and producer commentaries on the DVD indicate that an unrated version of the movie exists but has not been released.

In 2010 fans started a Facebook group – 500,000 to get PANDORUM sequel – To help reassure the producers to make sure a sequel comes out. Director Christian Alvart later became a member of the group.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/groups/101973326519796/</ref>


== Reception ==
== Reception ==
Review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports the film holding 27% positive reviews out of 81. The majority of them being mixed with the site rating it 4.2/10.<ref name="rottentomatoes">{{rotten-tomatoes|id=pandorum|title=Pandorum}}</ref> The site's consensus is that "While it might prove somewhat satisfying for devout sci-fi fans, ''Pandorum''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bloated, derivative plot ultimately leaves it drifting in space."<ref name=rottentomatoes/> At [[Metacritic]], which judges on a 0–100 scale, the film holds a "generally unfavorable" score of 28 based on 13 reviews.<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |title=Pandorum|publisher=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=2009-10-14 |url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/pandorum}}</ref> Science fiction magazine ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' was more positive, stating that "''Pandorum'' is the finest interstellar horror in years", and awarding the film 4 stars out of 5.<ref>[http://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/09/30/film_review_pandorum/ FILM REVIEW: Pandorum | SFX<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ''[[Film Ireland]]'' also gave ''Pandorum'' a positive review, appreciating the film's synergy of cinematic techniques, set design, and developed characters.<ref>{{cite news|title=''Pandorum'' Review|url=http://www.filmireland.net/2009/10/29/pandorum/|first=Jack|last=McGlynn|date=October 29, 2009|publisher=[[Film Ireland]]|accessdate=2009-11-01}}</ref>
Review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports an approval rating of 27% based on 88 reviews and an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it might prove somewhat satisfying for devout sci-fi fans, Pandorum's bloated, derivative plot ultimately leaves it drifting in space."<ref name="rottentomatoes">{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pandorum/ |title=Pandorum (2009) |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=March 24, 2020}}</ref> At [[Metacritic]], which judges on a 0–100 scale, the film holds a "generally unfavorable" score of 28 based on 13 reviews.<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web |title=Pandorum Reviews|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |work=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=15 March 2018 |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/pandorum}}</ref>

Science fiction magazine ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' stated that "''Pandorum'' is the finest interstellar horror in years" and awarded the film 4 stars out of 5.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kevin Harley on |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/09/30/film_review_pandorum/ |title=Pandorum review &#124; GamesRadar |publisher=Sfx.co.uk |date=2 October 2009 |access-date=5 February 2016}}</ref> ''[[Film Ireland]]'' also gave ''Pandorum'' a positive review, appreciating the film's synergy of cinematic techniques, set design, and developed characters.<ref>{{cite news|title=''Pandorum'' Review|url=http://www.filmireland.net/2009/10/29/pandorum/|first=Jack|last=McGlynn|date=29 October 2009|publisher=[[Film Ireland]]|access-date=1 November 2009}}</ref>


The film grossed $20,645,327 worldwide, therefore failing to bring back its $33 million budget.<ref name=boxofficemojo.com/> The film opened at #6 at the US box office with weekend receipts totaling $4,424,126.
The film was a flop, grossing $20.6 million worldwide on a $33 million budget.<ref name=boxofficemojo.com/> It opened at No. 6 at the US box office with weekend receipts totaling $4.4 million. Overture Films declared bankruptcy the following year.<ref>{{cite news | title=Overture Films ends three-year run, hands off marketing and distribution to Relativity Media | first=Claudia | last=Eller | url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/07/overture-films-is-over.html | date=23 July 2010 | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | access-date=28 November 2017 }}</ref>


== Soundtrack ==
== Soundtrack ==
{{Infobox album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
{{Infobox album
| Name = Pandorum
| name = Pandorum
| Type = soundtrack
| type = soundtrack
| Artist = Michl Britsch
| artist = Michl Britsch
| Cover = Pandorum OST.jpg
| cover =
| Released = September 25, 2009
| caption =
| Recorded = 2009
| alt =
| released = 25 September 2009
| Genre = [[Electronic music|Electronic]]
| Length = 71:06
| recorded = 2009
| venue =
| Label = Königskinder Schallplatten GmbH
| Producer = Michl Britsch
| studio =
| genre = [[Electronic music|Electronic]]
| Reviews =
| length = 71:06
| label = Königskinder Schallplatten GmbH
| producer = Michl Britsch
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
}}


Line 108: Line 152:


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[Lovecraftian horror]]
*[[Locked Room Mystery]]
*[[Survivalism in fiction]]
*[[Malthusianism]]
*[[Malthusianism]]
*[[space madness|Psychological effects of spaceflight]]
*[[Psychological and sociological effects of spaceflight]]


== References ==
== References ==
Line 119: Line 160:
== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{official website|http://www.pandorummovie.com}}
* {{IMDb title|1188729}}
* {{IMDb title|1188729}}
* {{AllRovi movie|472864}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|pandorum}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|pandorum}}


{{Christian Alvart}}
{{Christian Alvart}}


[[Category:2000s science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s British films]]
[[Category:2000s German films]]
[[Category:2009 psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:2009 films]]
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[[Category:2009 horror films]]
[[Category:2009 horror films]]
[[Category:2000s science fiction films]]
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[[Category:2000s thriller films]]
[[Category:British psychological thriller films]]
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[[Category:American science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:British science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:German psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:German independent films]]
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[[Category:English-language German films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Christian Alvart]]
[[Category:Films produced by Paul W. S. Anderson]]
[[Category:British action horror films]]
[[Category:Films set on fictional planets]]
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[[Category:Generation ship fiction]]
[[Category:Cannibalism in fiction]]
[[Category:Babelsberg Studio films]]
[[Category:Babelsberg Studio films]]
[[Category:Fiction about generation ships]]
[[Category:Films about cannibalism]]
[[Category:Overpopulation fiction]]
[[Category:Films about dissociative identity disorder]]
[[Category:Films set in outer space]]
[[Category:Films set on spacecraft]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language thriller films]]

Latest revision as of 03:50, 22 December 2024

For the game based on the film, see Pandorum (video game). For the musician, see Code:Pandorum.

Pandorum
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChristian Alvart
Screenplay byTravis Milloy
Story by
  • Travis Milloy
  • Christian Alvart
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyWedigo von Schultzendorff
Edited by
  • Philipp Stahl
  • Yvonne Valdez
Music byMichl Britsch
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 25 September 2009 (2009-09-25) (United States)
  • 1 October 2009 (2009-10-01) (Germany)
  • 2 October 2009 (2009-10-02) (United Kingdom)
Running time
108 minutes[3]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$33 million
Box office$20.6 million[2]

Pandorum is a 2009 science fiction horror film directed by Christian Alvart, produced by Robert Kulzer, Jeremy Bolt and Paul W. S. Anderson (the latter two through their Impact Pictures banner), and starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster. Travis Milloy wrote the screenplay from a story by Milloy and Alvart. The film's title is a fictional slang term for a form of psychosis caused by deep space and triggered by emotional stress, leading to severe paranoia, delirium, and nosebleeds. Pandorum was released on 25 September 2009 in the United States,[4] and on 2 October 2009 in the UK. The film was poorly received and a box office flop.

Plot

[edit]

After human overpopulation depletes Earth's resources, humanity builds an interstellar ark, the Elysium. It carries 60,000 people on a 123-year trip to colonize Tanis, an Earth-like planet. The passengers are placed in hypersleep, and a rotating crew wake biennially to maintain the ship. Eight years into the mission, the ship receives a transmission from Earth: "You're all that's left of us. Good luck, God bless, and Godspeed."

An indeterminate time later, two members of the flight crew, Corporal Bower and Lieutenant Payton, awaken. Improper emergence from the hibernatory state leaves them both with partial amnesia and possibly suffering from pandorum, a space-related disorder that causes psychosis when under emotional duress. The ship experiences power surges caused by an unstable nuclear reactor, and they are unable to enter the bridge. While Payton stays behind to access the ship's computer, Bower uses the ventilation system to search for the reactor.

Bower first finds a disemboweled body and a trapped mechanic, named Shepard. Shepard wakes up, startling Bower, who then frees him. Shepard mistakes Bower for a rescue team, before dousing his body in oil to cover his scent. Shepard then tells him to escape "them". Bower tries to order Shepard to tell him what is going on, but Shepard refuses, citing there is no longer a chain of command. The noise summons a group of cannibalistic humanoids who appear to respond mostly to sound. They both flee and hide but are soon found by the creatures. Shepard is killed by the group, while Bower tries to attack them with a non-lethal weapon he found earlier, which proves ineffective. He flees and continues on and encounters an environmental scientist, Nadia, and a farmer, Manh, who does not speak English; both are hostile. He encourages them to band together, and the trio flees into a barricaded chamber, where they find a cook named Leland. Leland has been awake for years, living off the water oozing through parts of the ship, the algae it creates, and resorting to cannibalism. Payton encounters Corporal Gallo, who claims the ship is lost in space and that he killed his team in self-defense.

Leland feeds Bower's group and shows them mural drawings depicting what has happened: after Earth vanished following an unknown catastrophe, Gallo went insane, killed his crew, and induced pandorum in other passengers. After goading them into a violent and tribal culture, Gallo went back into hypersleep. Aided by accelerated evolution from an enzyme meant to help colonists adjust to life on Tanis, the descendants have turned into cannibalistic mutants. Leland gasses the group, intending to eat them, but Bower convinces him the reactor must be stabilized.

As they search the ship for the reactor, Bower hopes to find his wife in an area for family in hypersleep but remembers that she died with everyone else on Earth when she refused to join him. This revelation almost makes him give up and pushes him closer to insanity. After surviving an encounter with the cannibals, Bower's group finds the reactor. A crowd of mutants sleep under the reactor, and Bower crosses a walkway to reset it. The walkway collapses, and Bower climbs down into the mutant pit to reach a ladder. While Manh distracts the mutants, Bower restarts the reactor, killing many mutants. Leland flees, and Manh is cornered by the mutant leader. Manh kills the leader but is killed by a mutant child he hesitates to slay.

Gallo becomes increasingly agitated, and Payton prepares a sedative. As they wrestle over the sedative, Gallo is revealed to be a hallucination as Payton is Gallo. Gallo killed the real Payton long ago when he developed pandorum upon hearing Earth was gone. Because he went into Payton's pod, Gallo mistakenly believed himself to be Payton when he woke up with amnesia. Leland reaches the bridge, and Gallo kills him with the sedative. When Bower and Nadia confront him, Gallo opens the shutters on the bridge's windows, revealing that the ship is adrift in deep space with no stars visible. The shock pushes Bower further toward insanity. Taking advantage of Bower's mental state, Gallo argues they must maintain the violent society rather than revive civilization.

Nadia observes bioluminescent ocean life through the windows, and the computer displays that 923 years have elapsed since the mission launched. The ship reached Tanis 800 years ago and landed itself in the ocean. Bower hallucinates a mutant attack and breaks a window. As water pours into the ship, Nadia and Bower climb into a hypersleep pod and eject it. The flood triggers an emergency protocol which ejects the remaining 1,211 untainted pods to the surface, while Gallo and the remaining mutants drown. Bower and Nadia surface near a lush coastline, and they witness the other pods ascend.

Cast

[edit]
  • Dennis Quaid as Lieutenant Payton/Older Corporal Gallo – The Ship's Lieutenant and captain, later revealed to be Corporal Gallo
    • Cam Gigandet as Younger Corporal Gallo – A Corporal who went insane and killed his team, and believed himself to be Payton throughout most of the movie
  • Ben Foster as Corporal Bower – The ship's Corporal and presumed head mechanical engineer
  • Antje Traue as Nadia – the ship's environmentalist, who teams with Bower
  • Cung Le as Manh – an agricultural farmer, who teams with Bower and Nadia
  • Eddie Rouse as Leland – the mentally unstable cook who has resorted to cannibalism.
  • André Hennicke as hunter leader – leader of the Hunters
  • Norman Reedus as Shepard – a mechanic whom Bower encounters
  • Wotan Wilke Möhring as Young Bower's Father
  • Niels Bruno Schmidt [de] as Insane Officer Eden

Production

[edit]

The film began life as a preliminary script written by Travis Milloy in the late 1990s. The story was originally set on a prison ship named Pandorum, transporting thousands of Earth's deadliest prisoners to another planet; the cannibal hunters were the result of the prisoners' degeneration. The characters played by Antje Traue and Cung Le were inmates. Ben Foster's character was a non-prisoner who did not trust anyone.

Believing no studio would want to make the film, Milloy thought about making it as a low-budget film shot on video in an abandoned paper mill with unknown actors. However, it attracted the attention of filmmaker Paul W. S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt, and they gave it to Impact Pictures, who green-lit it. The producers gave the script to director Christian Alvart who was struck by the similarities to his own screenplay titled No Where. His dramatic story was about four astronauts aboard a settlers' ship who suffer from amnesia. Alvart decided that they should meld the two screenplays together, and the producers and Milloy agreed. With the ship now changed to a settler's ship, the use of the word "Pandorum" was changed from the name of the ship to a type of mental illness caused by sustained deep space travel.[5]

Pandorum was announced in May 2008 with Quaid and Foster in lead roles. Christian Alvart was attached to direct the film from a script by Travis Milloy.

Filming took place at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam, Germany in August 2008.[6][7]

The movie was financed by Constantin Film through a joint venture deal with subsidiary Impact Pictures.[6] The partnership helped fund the $40 million production. Constantin drew subsidies from Germany's Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB) regional film fund, the German Federal Film Board [de] (FFA) and the German Federal Film Fund [de] (DFFF). The German Federal Film Fund provided $6 million to the production, the fund's second-largest 2008 payout after $7.5 million for Ninja Assassin.[7][8]

Release

[edit]
Ben Foster, Cung Le and Antje Traue talk about Pandorum at a panel discussion at WonderCon 2009.

Summit Entertainment handled foreign sales and presented Pandorum to buyers at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[6] Overture Films distributed Pandorum in North America, Icon Film Distribution in the United Kingdom and Australia, Svensk Filmindustri in Scandinavia, and Movie Eye in Japan. The film was set up as a possible franchise. According to Travis Milloy, it was to have a sequel and a prequel.[5] If it performed well, Impact Pictures could green-light one or more sequels.[7]

The DVD and Blu-ray release occurred on 19 January 2010 in the United States[9] over Anchor Bay Entertainment.[10]

The director and producer commentaries on the DVD indicate that an unrated version of the movie exists but has not been released.

Reception

[edit]

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 27% based on 88 reviews and an average rating of 4.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it might prove somewhat satisfying for devout sci-fi fans, Pandorum's bloated, derivative plot ultimately leaves it drifting in space."[11] At Metacritic, which judges on a 0–100 scale, the film holds a "generally unfavorable" score of 28 based on 13 reviews.[12]

Science fiction magazine SFX stated that "Pandorum is the finest interstellar horror in years" and awarded the film 4 stars out of 5.[13] Film Ireland also gave Pandorum a positive review, appreciating the film's synergy of cinematic techniques, set design, and developed characters.[14]

The film was a flop, grossing $20.6 million worldwide on a $33 million budget.[2] It opened at No. 6 at the US box office with weekend receipts totaling $4.4 million. Overture Films declared bankruptcy the following year.[15]

Soundtrack

[edit]
Pandorum
Soundtrack album by
Michl Britsch
Released25 September 2009
Recorded2009
GenreElectronic
Length71:06
LabelKönigskinder Schallplatten GmbH
ProducerMichl Britsch

Track listing

  1. "All That Is Left of Us" (2:43)
  2. "Pandorum" (3:58)
  3. "Anti Riot" (4:17)
  4. "Shape" (2:03)
  5. "Hunting Party" (2:48)
  6. "Kulzer Complex" (4:40)
  7. "Tanis Probe Broadcast" (2:01)
  8. "Scars" (2:20)
  9. "Fucking Solidarity" (3:28)
  10. "Gallo's Birth" (2:22)
  11. "Biolab Attack" (2:25)
  12. "Kanyrna" (3:22)
  13. "The Stars All Look Alike" (4:32)
  14. "Boom" (3:55)
  15. "Reactor" (4:08)
  16. "Skin on Skin" (3:21)
  17. "Fight Fight Fight" (2:56)
  18. "Bower's Trip" (7:51)
  19. "Discovery / End Credits" (7:55)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Pandorum" (in German). Filmportal.de. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Pandorum (2009)". Box Office Mojo. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  3. ^ "BBFC reference AFF259019: Pandorum". 22 September 2009. Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Pandorum". ComingSoon.net. Coming Soon Media, L.P. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Travis Milloy". Fielding on Film. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Dave McNary (8 May 2008). "Quaid, Foster set for 'Pandorum'". Variety. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Impact finds $40 mil to make 'Pandorum'". The Hollywood Reporter. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  8. ^ Christian Koehl (5 August 2008). "'Pandorum' secures German funds". Variety. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  9. ^ Overture Films. "PANDORUM - Now Available on DVD & Blu-ray". Pandorummovie.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  10. ^ Barton, Steve (16 November 2009). "Exclusive: Shock Festival Wallpapers and Radio Spots". Dread Central. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Pandorum (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Pandorum Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  13. ^ Kevin Harley on (2 October 2009). "Pandorum review | GamesRadar". Sfx.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  14. ^ McGlynn, Jack (29 October 2009). "Pandorum Review". Film Ireland. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  15. ^ Eller, Claudia (23 July 2010). "Overture Films ends three-year run, hands off marketing and distribution to Relativity Media". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
[edit]
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