Life on Mars may not be a good thing
On the last day of the first manned mission to Mars, a crew member of Tantalus Base believes he has made an astounding discovery – fossilised evidence of bacterial life.
Unwilling to let the relief crew claim all the glory; he disobeys orders to pack up and goes out on an unauthorised expedition to collect further samples. Of course, this does not bode well.
Fading Hope on a Distant Planet
The routine excavation turns to disaster when the porous ground collapses and he falls into a deep crevice. He dies, and his devastated colleagues attempt to recover his body.
However, when another crew member vanishes, they start to suspect that the life-form that they have discovered is not yet dead.
As the group begins to fall apart, it seems that their only hope is the imminent arrival of the relief ship, Aurora.
Fear & Loathing on Mars
Liev Schreiber, who plays the lead character, Vincent, found the idea of Vincent’s claustrophobia and anxiety immediately appealing.
He said, “One of the things we started talking about when I became involved was, ‘How do you articulate that claustrophobia?’ ‘How do you express something as complex as his sort of anxiety?’”
“The walls are closing in, and humans aren’t built to survive like this,” said producer Andrea Cornwell.
She adds, “Mars is vast, but there’s nowhere to hide. And that almost makes it a counter-Western: there’s no town over the hill to run to.”
The Last Days on Mars [PG13]
Director: Ruairi Robinson
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Olivia Williams, Romola Garai, Tom Cullen and Goran Kostic
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Run Length: 98 min
Release: Dec 5
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