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Dec 03, 2013 By Zach Hollwedel Web Exclusive

In the final twenty hours of a six-month mission, a group of scientists discover microbial life on Mars. The team’s elation at their monumental find soon turns to horror, as the life form proves parasitic. With a relief team set to touch down in a matter of hours, astronaut Vincent Campbell (Liev Schreiber) must spend his final day on Mars fighting for his life, as the alien microbes turn his colleagues into murderous, intelligent zombies.

From the get-go, Last Days on Mars looks like a film which the parties involved put about half their effort and care into. Mars doesn’t look so much like another planet as it does an Albuquerque desert on a smoggy day. The characters speak like sci-fi and horror movie stereotypes. Vincent Campbell is full of gruff bravado, alternating between blocking potential paramour Rebecca Lane (Romola Garai) out and allowing her a glimpse of his inner thoughts. Tough as nails Kim Aldrich (Olivia Williams) doesn’t care for orders and frequently tells her compatriots to buzz off, albeit in a much more expletive-laden manner. The actors can’t sell what they’re doing any more than the location sells a Martian landscape, and one can’t help but wonder why gravity on Mars appears identical to gravity on Earth every time the astronauts sprint through the barren world.

Ruairi Robinson does a decent job infusing the first half hour of the film with creepiness, tension, and the promise of an intriguing psychological thriller. However, when the first parasite-controlled astronaut returns (from the dead) and murders her teammate – with an electric drill, no less – Mars quickly takes a turn into B-horror movie land. Blood splatters the walls as the zombiefied astronauts hack and tear one another apart with no apparent reason beyond the desire to kill and no discernable weakness. With its skimpy plot and underdeveloped characters, Last Days on Mars comes across like a glorified student film that is perhaps best watched with an accompanying drinking game: every time a zombie gets whacked in the face, take a shot.

www.magnetreleasing.com/thelastdaysonmars