Iffy for 14+
Fake moon-landing chiller is no Blair Witch in space.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this sci-fi/horror movie -- which is told in the "found-footage" format pioneered by The Blair Witch Project and continued by Paranormal Activity and others -- revolves around a final, secret moon mission in which astronauts discover something terrible on the lunar surface. (In real life, 1972's Apollo 17 was the final mission.) There are some intense, frightening sequences, mostly based on sudden movements and scary faces. There's also a gory wound that grows worse as the story progresses. Profanity gets fairly frequent as things escalate but is more along the lines of "hell" and "goddamn" than stronger words (though there are a couple of those as well).
- Families can talk about the movie's violence. Is it scary? In general, which has more impact -- seeing frightening things take place or knowing that they're happening but not being able to see them?
- Does this film really look or feel like it's made out of real found footage? How does the editing affect that perception? How does this compare to other movies using a similar style?
The good stuff
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Messages: The U.S. government sends three astronauts to the moon for no clear reason, seemingly expecting them to perish. It's a hopeless and depressing scenario.
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Role models: Astronauts are typically cool role models, but while these characters try their best to complete their mission and be brave, they're not very likeable or admirable. They argue and panic and succumb to anger and frustration.
What to watch for
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Violence: Little overt violence, but there are a few scary, disturbing sequences with sudden, shocking images, such as a frightening face or a sudden movement. The worst is a gory wound on one of the astronauts that keeps getting more and more infected.
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Sex: Not an issue
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Language: Profanity becomes fairly frequent as the horror escalates; words include infrequent use of "s--t" and "f--k," plus many uses of "hell," "damn," "goddamn," and "Jesus Christ" (as an exclamation), as well as "bastard," "d--k," "balls," and "prick."
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: During interviews at the beginning, one of the astronauts tells a story about drinking "too many" beers at a barbecue.
Fan Reviews provided by
2
Makes me NOT want to go back to the movies by rockydoggies
Stay away from this stinker. Sure, the footage looks really nice, but the movie just bombs. Ugh, I toughed it out until the end, just horribly LAME !!! This easily could have been a 30 minute short. Not worth a full price of admission, maybe worth seeing with a free ticket from Fandango or the $3 matinee theater.
5
must see by 69nova
It is soooo intense!!!
4
They're going to need a big comb for those crabs! LOL by davi156513
The movie was awesome! Im a space nut so i couldn't resist going to see this one. Also went with a group a friends and the movie kinda took us back to when we went to see the "Blair Witch Project".
There are some mixed reviews out there but if you have an urge to try and see this one, go for it.
2
Well............... by Koali
This is a movie in the exact style of The Blair Witch Project if you remember that. Scary. I am a space junkie and lived in that era I purposely still had to remind myself this is a scripted, thought up and acted out - movie. Because they are using just a few faces mixed with 60's home movie style film sequences and old school moonwalk film technology- that can't be disputed by the average watcher, it works rather well as a potential true video. Disturbing sequences and frightening unknowns going on continually. Gory and yet I held out for the best for these astronauts as you will throughout. Well edited for seemingly documentary realism sake~ Very disheartening for political reasons. I said "Let China go - they want to - have at it", after this. A bit believability to outright psshaw !! But it's scary. Really rides the rails of true conspiracy.
3
this is not why we never whent back to the moon by imax3d dude
this movie was ok. i rented it on blu ray. but it did not have much of a story. it was a bunch of moon rocks walking around.and then one guy flips out. and we all know the real reason why we never whent back to the moon, transformers dark of the moon
3
Well, we now know where the pet rock came from! by cloudy9
Makes you wish they had made a real alien movie. This movie is like watching a home video like Blair Witch but not as realistic and exciting. I think it would be a great rental but it is definately just ok. The acting was good it least. Thinking that all moon rocks are crabs and that is alien life is crazy. Then to say there are moon rocks here.......well, made us laugh and think of the 1980's pet rocks and how they must have come about then! LOL
1
Apollo 18 by sam fisher
Like the mission, this movie should have been canceled as well.
It is too stupid to even try to put into words and whoever the creative genius was that came up with the "monster" idea of a moon rock spiders should never be allowed to work in Hollywood ever again.
Obviously the editor has no quality control background as there are so many holes in this story you leave the theater wondering if they had watched their released product before putting it into theaters.
If you have to watch this movie, wait the two weeks for it to be on demand with your cable provider. It won't be in theaters very long.
1
Apollo 18 review by griffinboy006
terrible movie. the previews dont do any justice to what youre in store for. sad thing is dont be afraid of the dark was better