The Last Days on Mars (2013)

A group of astronaut explorers succumb one by one to a mysterious and terrifying force while collecting specimens on Mars.

Director:

Ruairi Robinson

Writers:

Sydney J. Bounds (short story), Clive Dawson (screenplay)

Stars:

Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai

4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Liev Schreiber	...	Vincent Campbell
Elias Koteas	...	Charles Brunel
Romola Garai	...	Rebecca Lane
Olivia Williams	...	Kim Aldrich
Johnny Harris	...	Robert Irwin
Goran Kostic	...	Marko Petrovic
Tom Cullen	...	Richard Harrington
Yusra Warsama	...	Lauren Dalby
Patrick Joseph Byrnes	...	Flight Commander Ellis
Lewis Macleod	...	Infected Voices (voice)

Storyline

On the last day of the first manned mission to Mars, a crew member of Tantalus Base believes he's made an historic discovery; fossilised evidence of bacterial life. Unwilling to let the relief crew claim the glory, he disobeys orders to pack up, and goes out on an unauthorised expedition to collect further samples. But a routine excavation turns to disaster, when the porous ground collapses, and he falls into a deep crevice and near certain death. His devastated colleagues attempt to recover his body. However, when another vanishes, they begin to realise; the life-form they've discovered is highly dangerous to all human life.

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Plot Keywords:

mars | astronaut | zombie | alien infection | alien life form | 

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Taglines:

The search for life is about to end.

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Last Days on Mars

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,608, 8 December 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$23,838, 10 January 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Film Institute (BFI), Screen Ireland, Qwerty Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screenwriter Clive Dawson tried to be faithful to the original short story by Sydney J. Bounds, "The Animators". However, in the story, the crew is composed of six men. For the adaptation, Dawson added two new characters and wrote some of them as female characters.

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Goofs

When Charles Brunel is talking about the two sets of footprints heading off from the hole, the cameraman and camera is clearly visible in the reflection of his helmet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rebecca Lane: First big one of the season.
Vincent Campbell: Yep. It's heading right for base.
Rebecca Lane: It's gonna mess up Kim's dig. She's not gonna like that.
Vincent Campbell: Yeah, well, I don't like it much either.
Rebecca Lane: There's a surprise. Lighten up, Vince, a bit of dust never hurt anyone.
Vincent Campbell: It's not the dust I'm worried about.

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Soundtracks

Blue Skies Are Around The Corner
Written by Ross Parker & Hugh Charles
Performed by Jack Hylton

User Reviews

Sunshine on mars.

When watching the trailer I couldn't help but feel intrigued. Although it gave you a basic idea of what the film was about (the title is a massive clue), it didn't give any sign of the problem that would occur. I liked that, normally it is just standard procedure for a newly released movie to throw its cards on the table and show the inquisitive audience what to expect. "The Last Days on Mars" doesn't exactly follow in that tradition and leaves you guessing up until the moment the horror is realised.

Although location and purpose is completely different i couldn't help but associate it with "Sunshine"; of course with a less stellar cast. Just the crew falling apart, and mentality being tested in such environments. Not to take anything away from this, it does have its own display of originality, the location (mostly Jordan) was simplistic but effective; not needing Transformers to take away from the scenery. I thought Liev Schreiber played his part well, he gets a lot of flack, but he produces a solid display of acting. Everyone else just did their job; no-one really stood out.

Now although I enjoyed this film, there where several things that bugged me. Acting left a lot to be desired. The little flashback back-story was very, very anti climatic. Some of the characters where in need of a slap and the story lacked certitude.