WARNING - 'Apollo 18' movie could make an 'X-Files' fan's head explode

“Apollo 18” is one of the best science fiction horror movies that I’ve seen in a long time, and I highly recommend it. I watched this creepy movie for the first time a couple of days ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of this “found footage” film.

Officially, there were only 17 Apollo missions to the moon in the 1960s and 70s, and this movie is based on the idea that there was a secret 18th mission. The real life Apollo 18 mission was scheduled to visit the moon in 1972, but it and two later moon missions, Apollo 19 and Apollo 20, were cancelled for a number of reasons, most notably because of their high budgets.

In the “Apollo 18” movie, which is supposedly based on decades old found footage (think “The Blair Witch Project”), the Department of Defense launched a secret Apollo 18 mission in late 1974. It never returned, and because of its top-secret fate, the U.S. has never sent men back to the moon. The movie, which I don’t want to spoil for those who haven’t seen it, explains why we’ve never been back.

Released in September 2011, “Apollo 18” was directed by Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego and was written by Brian Miller. The movie stars Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins, Andrew Airlie, Michael Kopsa and Ali Liebert. Christie plays Capt. Ben Anderson, and Owen plays Commander Nate Walker. Robbins plays Lt. Col. John Grey, and Airlie provides the voice for Mission Control. Kopsa is the voice of the Deputy Secretary of Defense. (In real life 1974 this would have been William Perry “Bill” Clements Jr.) Liebert plays the role of Nate’s girlfriend.

Despite lackluster reviews, this movie was a financial success. Shot on a budget of around $5 million (with old camera lens from the 70s), this movie reaped box office revenues of over $25.5 million. It was released on DVD on Dec. 27, 2011, and you can now rent it through NetFlix.

For more information about the movie, visit its official Web site at www.apollo18movie.net. You might also want to check out www.lunartruth.org. This site is a mock Web site for the film, and you’ll see it referenced in the opening credits as the place where the “found footage” was first publicly released. If you go there, it’ll direct you to another mock site called www.lunartruth.com, which is loaded with enough (fake) classified government documents to make an “X-files” fan’s head explode.

In the end, this movie was fun to watch, and I enjoyed it. It was a mash-up of “The Blair Witch Project,” the “Alien” movies with Sigourney Weaver, “Paranormal Activity” and Tom Hanks’ “Apollo 13.” I hope there’ll be a couple of sequels to follow of equal or better quality. If that comes to pass, then we’re in for a treat.

How many of you have had the chance to watch “Apollo 18”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or dislike it? Why? Let us know in the comments section below.