Dead Space: Downfall is a 2008 American science fiction horror film directed by Chuck Patton, written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and developed by Film Roman under the supervision of Electronic Arts; Electronic Arts also published the 2008 survival horror video game Dead Space upon which the film is based. It first released direct-to-video in October, before seeing a television showing the following month on Starz Encore.
Downfall is a prequel to Dead Space, taking place after the limited comic series of the same name. Set aboard the planet mining ship USG Ishimura, it details the events following the transportation of an artifact called the Marker from the planet Aegis VII, leading to the deaths of nearly everyone on board at the hands of reanimated mutated corpses dubbed "Necromorphs".
The film was produced as part of Electronic Art's multimedia expansion of the plot, referred to by staff as "IP cubed". Patton was given relative freedom with the narrative and visuals, wanting to create the goriest feature Film Roman had produced. Electronic Arts provided art assets to Film Roman, allowing an accurate representation of the game's universe. The DVD release earned over $1 million in sales. Reviews were mixed, with several faulting its short length and emphasis on graphic violence over horror and suspense. Electronic Arts and Film Roman would collaborate again on 2011's Dead Space: Aftermath, a prequel to Dead Space 2.
Plot[]
Dead Space: Downfall takes place in the year 2508, centuries after humanity narrowly avoided extinction due to resource depletion by "cracking" planets to extract their resources in a three-year process. The story begins during the second year of an illegal mining operation on the planet Aegis VII funded by the Church of Unitology. Colony geologist Jennifer Barrows discovers a monolith-like artifact identified as a Marker, an object sacred to the Unitologists' beliefs. In reality, the Marker is a human copy of an alien object that begins to have a fatal influence over the colony, eventually causing an outbreak of reanimated mutated corpses referred to outside the movie as "Necromorphs". Downfall details how the Marker's infection reached and overcame the Ishimura, told through the eyes of a number of Aegis VII miners and Ishimura crew members.
The film opens with a video message from security chief Alissa Vincent, saying the Ishimura is lost and both the ship and the Marker that caused its fall must be destroyed. The story goes back to Barrows's discovery of the Marker in an area showing signs of ancient human mining. By the time the Ishimura arrives, the Aegis VII colony has undergone a catastrophic breakdown, with dozens killed and many reports of violent psychosis. The Marker is brought on board on the authority of Captain Mathius and Dr Kyne, prompting many Unitologist crew to worship it, among them engineer Samuel Irons. Vincent grows increasingly angry about having the Marker on board, believing it was responsible for the colony's collapse.
After planetcrack, all contact is lost with the colony, which is completely overrun by Necromorphs. The deranged Jennifer kills herself, and when her husband Colin escapes with her body to the Ishimura, they are infected by a stowaway Necromorph before landing and escaping onto the ship. Kyne, already questioning their real mission to bring the Marker back to the Church, briefly sees the converted Barrows. Vincent's six-person team—including members Ramirez and Hanson—investigate a disturbance, finding growing numbers of Necromorphs killing the crew and overtaking the ship. During their encounters, her team loses two members, and Hanson is only saved by Irons's intervention. Meanwhile Mathius grows increasingly paranoid and delusional, forcing the bridge crew to restrain him. Kyne's attempt to sedate him leads to Mathius's death, and Kyne flees as all escape pods are launched, trapping everyone on board.
En route to the bridge, Hanson goes insane and kills another member of Vincent's crew before Ramirez shoots him. In an effort to save survivors, Irons sacrifices himself to hold off the Necromorphs. Vincent and Ramirez then go to stop Kyne deactivating the Ishimura's engines and crashing them into Aegis VII. Ramirez dies during the trek, and Kyne reveals the Marker's influence to Vincent before escaping again. With the Ishimura stable but in a decaying orbit, Vincent reaches the Marker, which the Necromorphs cannot approach as it kept them sealed on Aegis VII. Exhausted and beginning to suffer from hallucinations, Vincent makes her video message, then attempts to escape on a remaining shuttle. Trapped by Necromorphs, she opens the bay doors, sending herself and nearby Necromorphs into space after launching a distress beacon. The film ends with the UGS Kellion responding to the distress call.