The Last Days on Mars

Sci-fi meets horror when members of a manned space expedition discover that virulent, highly contagious, bacterial life exists on Mars. Yearning for the blue skies and green grass of home, Vincent Campbell (Liev Schreiber) and Rebecca Lane (Romola Garai) are anxiously counting the hours until they and their cohorts can depart on the relief ship Aurora after a seemingly futile six-month research mission. But scientist Marko Petrovic (Goran Kostic) refuses to return to Tantalus Base for the mandatory exit briefing by Captain Brunel (Elias Koteas)—a situation that is particularly infuriating to ambitious, abrasive Kim Aldrich (Olivia Williams), who is frustrated over not being able to spend more time in the field. It turns out that Marko has discovered fossilized evidence of a living organism, a remarkable find that he is not ready to share with his comrades. But after reckless Marko falls into a mysteriously steaming pit, he emerges as a mutant zombie. Setting off on a murderous rampage, Marko becomes a relentless predator, attempting to infect the rest of the crew. Based on a short story by Sydney J. Bounds, filmmaker Ruairi Robinson's unabashedly low-budget effort is derivative of much better films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, and Moon. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (15 min.), a segment on “Analyzing the Visual Effects” (6 min.), behind-the-scenes comparisons (4 min.), an ASX TV promo (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing sci-fi thriller.] (S. Granger)