Deus

OK. So we have to be realistic... SciFi films don't exactly must be scientifically accurate (yeah.. Darth Vader isn't real, right?). But at least show some coherence. A sphere is found in Mars orbit in a future far enough to hibernate people and wake them back, and build a really big ship with artificial gravity, then they took 8 months to reach Mars? I am pretty sure SpaceX will do better in a few years... And using hibernation for an 8 months trip in such a large ship with a handful of crewmates? Are you kidding me?

Cast was fairly good, and I am sure they spent a good deal of money in this film, yet the script is poor, to say at least. Don't waste your time as I wasted mine.

In the future, the Earth is being crushed by over-population. A mysterious black sphere is orbiting Mars and tycoon Vance sends the spaceship Achilles to investigate. Karla Grey (Claudia Black) is one of the six person crew waking up from hibernation. The sphere starts repetitively transmitting one word, Deus.

This is a British sci-fi film that is a bit above TV level but not quite theatrical level. The first half has elements of sci-fi horror. That's what I'm expecting when one of them starts killing. It's sort of like Event Horizon with less gore. The writing is a little clunky. The most obvious sign is that everybody keeps calling Karla Grey by her full name. It's not dialogue. It's a writer writing down words. Then it delivers its big reveal. Without spoiling, I can say that I appreciate the attempt. It reminds me of an old sci-fi magazine story with a twist. It doesn't really work in the real, but it has hints of something solid.

The first half of the film is definitely a chore to watch but it does get somewhat better in the second half.

The main things about Deus that suck include most of the dialog, some of the actors, some of the set design (for example: hexagon shaped doors), and the terrible accent for the computer AI. Also, the ending felt a little abrupt.

The graphics are pretty good and the story itself isn't terrible.

Claudia Black is, of course, the films saving grace.

Considering how awful most low budget movies have been lately, this one is entertaining.

If you can manage the first half, it turns out to not be a waste of time.

Not being a massive budget film, I was quite pleased with it.

I had two 'big' problems watching this, the first was "Si Rubin", the whole character and performance were pretty bad... The second problem I had was with the writing.

I feel that few more drafts would have perhaps helped, at times it really trails off... Now, few things really stood out like the cinematography and editing, both remarkable.

In fact I'd like to know on which camera it was shot on, please add it on IMDb technical space.

My dearest compliments on set design as well as costumes, they were incredibly good!

Another positive thing was the soundtrack as well as sound effects, both captivating.

Definetely a big step up from Mr. Stone's previous films. Keep it up!

P. S. Casting was very good as well!

You can tell newb writer and director Steve Stone's inexperience was evident in this film, especially failing to direct his cast properly. Even Claudia Black looked lost in some scenes, and Richard Blackwood as the commander was just horrible and unconvincing in every scene, not to mention annoying. His demeanor, (lack of) facial expressions and body language, tone of voice and dialogue was just all wrong.

Conceptually the story was interesting, but it suffered plot and technical issues, and the slow pacing with many long dragged out and unnecessary scenes made the normally comfortable 90 min runtime feel much longer. It needed more story to fill in the time, or cut down to a short film. Much of the dialogue felt very amateurish, especially the AI, and writing could've used more suspense and action instead of constant cam views and cheesy cheap random shots.

The visuals however were decent for a low budget B film, and the score was excellent, especially for a B film, where the score is usually too loud, constant, annoying and unfitting.

As a huge sci-fi fan, I still enjoyed it, as I've seen much worse, and seeing it through till the end says a lot. For a low budget B film from a newb filmmaker, I'd say it's a decent one-time watch if you're a sci-fi fan. Had the actors been better cast and/or directed, this film would've been much better. Still, a generous 6/10 from me.