Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid star in the sci-fi horror film, Pandorum. The pair play a pair of officers on an intergalactic ark that was launched from a dying Earth as a chance for survival of the species.

However, when Bower (Foster) wakes from hypersleep, he’s troubled and unnerved to find that he and another officer, Payton (Quaid) seem to be the only people on the ship, and they are trapped in a single room.

Bower is able to get out of the room, and start making his way towards restoring ship’s power, but he’s not ready for what he discovers. He and Payton aren’t alone on the ship. He comes across other revived crew, all with troubling stories. Some have succumbed to a sort of space madness (pandorum), but Bower also has to deal with something else on the ship. Some thing dangerous.

There are twists, turns, horrifying attacks and kills, and Bower may not be ready for where it leads him.

The effects, digital and practical are still surprisingly solid, and the film, on the whole, looks great. And Ben Foster is an actor I always delight in seeing. He’s one of those performers who, I feel, can play anything. He can be dramatic, comedic, whatever is needed. He’s exceptional.

And while I don’t like all of how Payton’s story works out, but Quaid is wonderful. And you can see the charm the man exudes.

There are some wonderful moments throughout the film, and it’s solidly crafted. I had only seen it once before, and I don’t believe I enjoyed it as much as I did this time around. In fact, I didn’t recall much from my previous screening of the film, just Bower crawling through the innards of the Elysium.

In fact, the further I got in to the film, the more I really enjoyed this one, You only know what Bower knows for the most part of the story, so it’s new twist and reveal opens up the narrative and characters in new ways.

Coming to it now, I quite liked this film. It didn’t really hit with me the first time I watched it. This time, I buckled up, held on, and had a great time with it.

This isn’t about the exploration of space, it’s about survival, and madness. It’s one of those stories that makes space really scary.

And it reminds me that I want to see Foster in more films.