Actors: Christian Slater, Brendan Fehr, Amy Matysio, Michael Therriault
Directors: Roger Christian
Rated: Unrated
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Release Date: August 27, 2013
Run Time: 88 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars
You would think that director Roger Christian would have learned better after helming “Battlefield Earth” to stay away from the sci-fi genre. He does get props for me since he was a part of the Academy Award-winning team that art-directed the first “Star Wars”. Let’s not bullshit around here, “Stranded” is a sci-fi generic recycled piece of crap….but I still enjoyed it. Christian Slate does a good job as usual and carries the rest of the cast on his shoulders. The film tries really hard to be a blend of “Alien” meets “The Thing”. The special features are just ok but due to its low-budget it is quite impressive. I would recommend to sci-fi/horror junkies like myself.
Official Premise: When the isolated U.S. military moonbase is bombarded by a rogue meteor storm, Colonel Gerard Brauchman (Christian Slater) and his small crew are cut off from Earth with their life support failing. Before long, the crew discovers the meteors harbored alien spores…and they’re replicating. Now a vicious, shape-shifting predatory life form is loose inside the crippled facility, picking off victims one by one. Locked in a desperate fight for survival, Brauchman and the terrified remaining astronauts have one final mission…keep the creature from escaping the moon and finding a new food supply on Earth.
Image delivers a very sharp Blu-ray presentation for this low-budget film. I have to admit, I loved the 1080p transfer for this film. Even though, the film is quite dark, it is well shot and really well done. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 also scores a home run as well. It works with suspense and action. The special features are not the greatest but at least they have some extras included, so props there. “The Making of Stranded” is a pretty solid 15 minutes behind-the-scenes look into the film with interviews from the cast/crew. “Life on the Moon: The FX of Stranded” is also a great feature with makeup effects artist Emersen Ziffle but I just wish it ran a little longer to show off the impressive visual and practical effects.