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

May 2012: Olivia Williams replaces Sally Hawkins, who has to drop out due to personal commitments.

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Goofs

After Charles dies on the table, Kim grabs yellow zip ties and proceeds to tie him down. In the following scenes prior to him being covered, the zip ties change position or disappear entirely.

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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

So bad nothing can save it

While the CGI is quite good for this low-budget movie and there are a few relatively big-name actors present, the script is horrendous. Quick summary: astronauts nearing the end of their stay on the Martian space station compete with each other for a great scientific discovery only to find pre-existing life on Mars that turns men into zombies. Yep, you have zombies on Mars. What more could you want?

Well, that is easy – maybe a little mystery and/or tension. And how about a script that introduces a concept that we have not seen before? Space is dangerous. Check. Scientists are just like everybody else – they have egos, are competitive, and can get jealous. Check. Alien life. Check. Bacteria turns humans to zombies who want to kill everyone. Check.

If you have time to kill, there are worse ways to spend it than watching this average movie (if it is free). But since there are so many other good movies, I cannot recommend any time be spent with this one.