Review of Dead Space: Aftermath (2011) by Ren S — 23 Aug 2015

7 years since the original game came out I finally had the chance to play it and see what the fuss was about.

It was basically non-linear storytelling and the game developers created a new form of a terrifying outer space killer-alien project.

What worked so well was the constant dark shadows aboard the Ishimura, the design of the Necromorphs able to take so many freakish shapes, and having the same feeling as John Carpenter's The Thing.

Except where that mutant-alien story took place on earth this game series takes place in the vacuum of space with no escape.

The first game was scary, gory, and heart-poundingly intense from start to finish even though the controls were a bit flaky and ammunition and health were limited.

This film takes place just after the events of Aegis 7 when Issac Clarke escaped and right before the events of the 2nd game.

A new crew from the Obono stumble upon the ruined landscape of the desolate planet, find a shard of the Marker artifact, and accidentally unleash more of the terror that befell the Ishimura crew.

A majority of the film is told in flashbacks from creepy-looking CGI to traditional hand-drawn anime.

The anime portions are way better and with more thought and construct explaining each of the crew's encounter with the Necromorphs and the corruption of the Marker.

The film zips by without wasting a single moment delivering much of the same scares and bloody scenes the game first spawned.

There's also a much deeper conspiracy surrounding the discovery of the alien race and the artifact meaning that the nightmare may not be far from over.

Fills in several gaps and opens the way for a much bigger storyline for the rest of the series.