Idea Evasion

When a space shuttle crash lands, those that come into contact with the wreckage begin to change into something not quite human. Psychiatrist Carol Bennell and her friend Ben Driscoll learn the truth about the alien epidemic, which attacks its victims in their sleep and renders them emotionless and inhuman. As the infection spreads, Carol fights to stay awake, desperate to find her young son, who may hold the key to halting its progress.

The pacing stutters and you're never sure what sort of movie you're watching. The director is too dispassionate about his characters for it to be a drama, there's little exploration of the science fiction concepts and though there are a few nasty moments, there isn't enough creeping menace for it to be a horror movie. The result is a film that feels too cold and clinical throughout. There are some good ideas, such as peace breaking out as the infection takes hold, but there is little passion in their execution. This makes the film drag, as you don't care about the characters or their situation, so it feels much longer than ninety-nine minutes.

We are supposed to empathise with a heroine who is too aloof. We don't see enough of her as a mother to establish her as a sympathetic character. She's presented more as the psychiatrist - a neutral observer that doesn't really invest in situations. Most of her interaction with her son is at a remove; either by text or picture message, so you don't feel the bond between them. So it's hard to understand why she's so desperate to find him. Similarly her relationship with best friend and would-be lover Ben is one she keeps at arm's length, so you won't connect with it. The dialogue is heavy on jargon and cod-scientific explanations and the odd bit of philosophising on the nature of humanity. And to try to keep the non-sci-fi fans happy, there's a rather dull explanation of the hive mind created by the virus. But it all sits at odds with the B-movie proclamations of "My husband is not my husband..." and "Nobody touches my child!" So it all feels rather clunky.

Daniel Craig is again another fine actor but is stymied by a lack of chemistry with his female co-star. Regardless of how warm and twinkly he is, their relationship rings false, making it difficult to invest in it and them. Jeffrey Wright is completely wasted in a role that requires little of him other than to spout pseudo-scientific jargon at pace. He's likeable enough but he doesn't have enough screen-time to really establish the character of Dr Galeano as anything more than an expository plot device. Jeremy Northam is well cast as Carol's ex-husband, demonstrating the creepy Prozac behaviour of the infected with precision and detail. Jackson Bond, who plays young Ollie is confident on screen but not overburdened with stage school teeth-and-eyes acting techniques. He's cute and naturalistic, so you'll probably find him the most sympathetic of the characters.