'The Dark Side Of The Moon' is easy to dismiss as a low-budget rip-off of 'Alien.' There is some truth to that, but in fairness it does try to forge its own identity and isn't a straightforward knockoff. Direct-To-Video movies often find themselves having to innovate and stretch every penny and while this isn't an overlooked classic, it is an inventive genre flick and worth a revisit.
Set in the distant future of...uh...2022...the film sees a satellite maintenance crew crossing paths with a malevolent force after their ship suffers a mysterious power outage. They encounter an old NASA shuttle drifting ominously near the moon and soon discover that something deeply unpleasant is onboard.
So far, so very familiar but rather than rely on extraterrestrial nasties, 'Dark Side' goes down a more supernatural route. With no money to spend on creature effects or splatter, it also relies more on crafting a bleak, oppressive atmosphere and it actually does a pretty decent job. The shots of giant ships moving slowly in space and the old shuttle silently emerging from the black do wonders for the vibe, while the crew's escalating paranoia and mistrust is effective too. By the time it enters its final act, you can fully understand why they're jumping at shadows.
It doesn't all work however and there are a few clangers in the script. The reliance on the widely debunked Bermuda Triangle as a plot device has aged badly, and there are more than a few hackneyed twists in here. If you can switch the cynicism off though, 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' is creepily effective sci-fi horror that functions like a less gory and cheaper precursor to 'Event Horizon.' I wouldn't rush to watch it but there is enough creativity in here to justify spending an hour and a half wandering through corridors that could really do with another lightbulb or two. Oh, and the closing shot is pretty cool.
Set in the distant future of...uh...2022...the film sees a satellite maintenance crew crossing paths with a malevolent force after their ship suffers a mysterious power outage. They encounter an old NASA shuttle drifting ominously near the moon and soon discover that something deeply unpleasant is onboard.
So far, so very familiar but rather than rely on extraterrestrial nasties, 'Dark Side' goes down a more supernatural route. With no money to spend on creature effects or splatter, it also relies more on crafting a bleak, oppressive atmosphere and it actually does a pretty decent job. The shots of giant ships moving slowly in space and the old shuttle silently emerging from the black do wonders for the vibe, while the crew's escalating paranoia and mistrust is effective too. By the time it enters its final act, you can fully understand why they're jumping at shadows.
It doesn't all work however and there are a few clangers in the script. The reliance on the widely debunked Bermuda Triangle as a plot device has aged badly, and there are more than a few hackneyed twists in here. If you can switch the cynicism off though, 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' is creepily effective sci-fi horror that functions like a less gory and cheaper precursor to 'Event Horizon.' I wouldn't rush to watch it but there is enough creativity in here to justify spending an hour and a half wandering through corridors that could really do with another lightbulb or two. Oh, and the closing shot is pretty cool.