Somnus

• Directed by Chris Reading
• October 4, 2017 (US)

When malfunctions on a commercial spacecraft force a diversion in course to a colony, the crew discovers something disturbing about the inhabitants. Or is it about ancient aliens wiping out humanity so we can start over? You decide!

This is a movie that looks good and appears to have a lot of dramatic potential and is performed well, but Somnus never reaches its full potential. It is an attempt at smaller, serious science fiction that almost gets there but never quite closes the deal. No answers really get alluded to or even just straight up given. There is nothing given for the viewer to draw many or any of their own conclusions. It just stays vague.

There are allusions to an important cargo on the ship that’s something other than the minerals that they’re supposed to have. Nobody knows squat about it nor what does exactly what that mysterious cargo is ever become clear. At least not that I got.

The story is equal parts 2001: A Space Odyssey and the lesser known Pandorum. We have not only a mysterious disaster which affects Earth in its entirety and the crew here not totally understanding what they’re facing, but also a murderous computer willing to fulfill the apparent ends of mysterious alien masters that are communicating with it.

The characters are vague. The captain gets the most explanation. Apparently his wife or girlfriend left him. You’d be hard-pressed to figure out which from this film (or if she died which might have happened) and he keeps retreating into a virtual reality simulation that’s meant for only long duration missions. Is it messing with his mind? I don’t know nor can surmise and neither will you. They really don’t give a hint one way or the other. It’s just something that happens in the story.

The big reveal is that 500,000 or so years ago after a brief contact with an interstellar alien species our creative and scientific spark was ignited. But they left. Why did they come and why they go? No idea! Well they’re back to wipe us out because we’re a danger and they’ve decided to clean up the mess. And it is hinted that the captain is going to help repopulate the Earth though how that works is confizzling.

I applaud the use of practical effects in this film. It gives a certain bit of realism that CGI just does not. Other than the crappy puppet that you see when they reach the colony, it all looks good.

The sets are amazing. It’s not a clean and polished future, but rather a down and dirty and lived in one. The equipment is old and it clearly has a history before this film began. That gives a sense of authenticity to things. Especially when these are supposed to be more working class than high class individuals.

Ultimately this movie is a great many questions and touches of weirdness with very few answers. It is solid dialogue and well written lines that add up to little other than potential. It dangles so much as a tease but gives very little. Not a total letdown but rather disappointing.

Somnus is well acted and well directed, but ultimately adds up to nothing. It looks like it should be high art but it isn’t. For the visuals Somnus is worth checking out but for the story you can certainly skip it.