Editorials
‘Apollo 18’ – Finding the Good in Found Footage’s Ambitious Trip into Space [The Silver Lining]
Watching a bad movie doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad experience. Even the worst films can boast a good idea or two, and that’s why we’re trying to look on the bright side with The Silver Lining, where we shine a light on the best parts of traditionally maligned horror flicks.
This time, we’ll be discussing Gonzalo López-Gallego’s 2011 Found-Footage thriller, Apollo 18!
For eons, humankind looked up at the moon in awe, wondering about its origins and purpose as it accompanied our primitive nights. That’s why NASA’s Apollo missions can be considered some of the most pivotal moments in our species’ history – when we figuratively exited the cosmic cradle and entered a larger universe. This progression obviously came with huge social repercussions, so it’s only natural that folks are still questioning the facts decades later.
From the 180 moon rocks that mysteriously vanished after being brought back during the original missions to my personal favorite suspicion that the lunar landing itself was 100% real but the footage wasn’t, there’s definitely no shortage of conspiracy theories about the subject. That’s why it’s no surprise that there are so many lunar thrillers out there, and it was only a matter of time before one of them took the Found-Footage approach when exposing some variation of a moon-related conspiracy.
Back in 2010, Dimension Films began marketing Apollo 18, an eerily realistic Found-Footage flick supposedly comprised of lost media from a previously classified lunar mission. Following in the footsteps of the best Found-Footage films of the past, López-Gallego’s thriller benefited from a convincing marketing campaign (mostly involving the now-defunct Lunartruth.com) that was so successful it prompted NASA spokesperson Bert Ulrich to publicly dismiss the film as a work of fiction.
When the first trailer finally dropped, revealing genuine-looking 16mm footage filmed by astronauts dealing with an extraterrestrial threat, horror fans were stoked for what appeared to be the sci-fi equivalent of The Blair Witch Project.
SO WHAT WENT WRONG?
Making over five times its original budget at the box office, Apollo 18 wasn’t exactly a cinematic disaster. However, the 23% score on Rotten Tomatoes suggests that, while people were definitely interested in seeing what the filmmakers had cooked up, most moviegoers walked away from the flick expecting something a little more substantial.
Much like the retroscripted Found-Footage hits of yore, the filmmakers behind Apollo 18 allowed the story to be fluidly rewritten during filming, incorporating improvisation and spur-of-the-moment story beats as they attempted to craft a believable horror flick. While this technique worked wonders on The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, the inherent limitations of making a sci-fi thriller that looks like official NASA footage left López-Gallego with much less creative freedom than his predecessors.
Not only is it harder to justify character moments in a Found-Footage movie when your protagonists are exclusively meant to be filming for scientific purposes (especially back in the 70s, when film stock was a precious commodity), but budgetary concerns also limited how creative the filmmakers could get with set pieces and their explanation for why astronauts never returned to that big cheese wheel in the sky.
If you haven’t already seen Apollo 18, the following paragraph contains spoilers, but I don’t believe you’ll be missing out on much if you go in already knowing the twist. To put it bluntly, the film basically reveals that the moon is populated by murderous aliens pretending to be rocks, and that’s what led to the demise of NASA’s Apollo missions. Unfortunately, these aliens aren’t particularly scary or even visually interesting, and the idea itself becomes kind of laughable the more you think about it.
In all honesty, I would have preferred it if the filmmakers had kept this speculative turn of events ambiguous, much like the titular witch in The Blair Witch Project. The film would have been way more interesting if the lunar mystery was left open to interpretation, including the possibility that there were no aliens at all and the astronauts simply went mad and killed each other.
While the CGI-enhanced murder rocks don’t completely ruin the experience, it’s clear that Apollo 18 tried so hard to be a lifelike recreation of retro space footage that it forgot to be an actual movie. The long stretches of simulated NASA protocol might be eerily realistic, but they also get boring after a while, and the experience culminates in an underwhelming sci-fi twist.
THE SILVER LINING
Apollo 18 may not have been the Found-Footage opus that the filmmakers originally set out to make, but there’s no denying that a lot of thought went into crafting this surprisingly authentic throwback. From being shot on period-accurate lenses to embracing the unedited scientific footage aesthetic, you would be forgiven for thinking that the film was originally stored deep within NASA’s secret vaults (at least until the killer rocks show up).
This attention to detail extends to other areas of the production as well. From the period-accurate soundtrack featuring music from bands like Yes and Jethro Tull to referencing the infamous In Event of Moon Disaster speech prepared by the Nixon administration in case the Apollo astronauts became permanently stranded on the moon, everything suggests that the filmmakers really cared about the project.
The producers actually managed to hire a real Apollo flight director to consult on the film, making sure that their horrific re-enactment looked as much like the real thing as possible, with a lot of effort being put into designing the retro NASA technology. This makes the film an amusing throwback for both history and conspiracy nuts, with the entire experience being peppered with historical Easter eggs. The writers even came up with believable cover stories for the astronauts that died in the film, basing their fake deaths on suspicious real-world incidents.
While I wouldn’t blame you for dismissing Apollo 18 as yet another unremarkable addition to the Found-Footage pantheon, I think it’s a fascinating watch if you’re willing to approach it as long-lost historical footage revealing a decades-long conspiracy instead of a traditional horror movie. Either way, I still think this fun little experiment is worth revisiting, and I honestly wish we’d see more ambitious Found-Footage projects like this in the future.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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