Apollo 18 is a 2011 American-Canadian alternate history found footage science

fiction horror film written by Brian Miller, directed by Gonzalo L�pez-Gallego, and
produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Michele Wolkoff. After various release date
changes, the film was released in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada on
September 2, 2011; however, the release dates for other territories vary.[3] The
film is L�pez-Gallego's first English-language movie.

The film's premise is that the cancelled Apollo 18 mission actually landed on the
Moon in December 1973, but never returned, and as a result the United States has
never launched another expedition to the Moon. The film is shot in found-footage
style, supposedly "lost footage" of the Apollo 18 mission that was only recently
discovered.

Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
3.1 Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes
3.1.1 Alternate Endings
3.1.2 Deleted Scenes
3.2 Background
4 Release
4.1 Home media
5 Reception
5.1 Box office
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Plot
In December 1973, the crew of the cancelled Apollo 18 mission is informed that it
will now proceed as a top secret Department of Defense (DoD) mission disguised as a
satellite launch. Commander Nathan Walker, Lieutenant colonel John Grey, and
Captain Ben Anderson are launched toward the Moon to place detectors to alert the
United States of any impending ICBM attacks from the USSR.

Grey remains in orbit aboard the Freedom command module while Walker and Anderson
land on the Moon in the lunar module Liberty. While planting one of the detectors,
the pair take rock samples. After returning to Liberty, the pair hear noises
outside and a camera captures a small rock moving nearby. Houston claims the noises
are interference from the ICBM detectors. Anderson finds a rock sample on the floor
of Liberty despite having secured the samples. During further lunar exploration
they discover footprints that lead them to a bloodstained, functioning Soviet LK
lander, and a dead cosmonaut in a nearby crater. Walker queries Houston about the
Soviet presence, but he is told only to continue with the mission.

The following day the pair find that the flag they had planted is missing. Their
mission complete, the crew prepares to leave, but the launch is aborted when
Liberty suffers violent shaking. An inspection reveals extensive damage to Liberty
and their flag shredded. Walter finds non-human tracks outside Liberty, and cites
them as evidence of extraterrestrial life. Walker feels something moving inside his
spacesuit and is horrified as a spider-like creature crawls across the inside of
his helmet. Walker disappears from view and Anderson finds him unconscious outside
of Liberty. Walker later denies the events. A wound is discovered on Walker's
chest; Anderson removes a Moon rock embedded within him. After having removed the
rock, Walker then destroys it with a hammer. The pair find themselves unable to
contact Houston or Grey due to increased levels of interference from an unknown
source.
Anderson speculates that the true intention of the ICBM warning devices is to
monitor the aliens, and that the devices are the source of the interference, only
to discover something has destroyed them when they attempt to switch them off.
Walker shows signs of a developing infection and he becomes increasingly paranoid.
The mission cameras capture the rock samples moving around in the interior of
Liberty, revealing that the aliens are camouflaged as Moon rocks. Increasingly
delusional, Walker attempts to destroy the cameras within Liberty, but he
accidentally damages the system controls, causing Liberty to depressurize.
Realizing the Soviet LK is their only source of oxygen, the pair travel to the LK
lander in their lunar rover. Walker causes the vehicle to crash as he runs away,
believing he should not leave the Moon, because of the risk of spreading the
infection to Earth. As Anderson passes out he catches a glimsp of the large space
rocks which begin to grow legs similar to that of spiders.

Anderson awakens and tracks Walker to the crater where they found the cosmonaut.
Walker is pulled into the crater by the creatures. Anderson gives chase, but he is
confronted by the aliens, and flees to the Soviet LK. Anderson uses its radio to
contact USSR Mission Control who connect him to the Department of Defense. The
deputy secretary informs Anderson that they cannot allow him to return to Earth,
admitting they are aware of the situation and incorrectly believe he is also
infected. Anderson manages to contact Grey and they make arrangements for Anderson
to return to Freedom. Anderson prepares the lander for launch, but Walker arrives,
revealing he had survived the alien encounter earlier. However, he is now
completely psychotic and demands to be let in. When Anderson refuses to let him in,
he tries to break the lander's window with a hammer. Before Walker can enter the
vehicle, he is attacked by a swarm of creatures inside his helmet, which causes his
head to explode, killing him.

Anderson launches, but the DoD warns Grey that Anderson is infected and orders him
to abort the rescue or communication will be cut off, without which the CSM will be
unable to return to Earth. The lander's engines shut off as it enters orbit, and it
is in free fall. Small rocks within the craft float in the air, some of which
reveal themselves to be alien creatures. Anderson is attacked and infected by the
creatures, preventing him from controlling the vehicle. Grey tells Anderson that he
is moving too fast as the LK speeds towards Freedom, and the space footage ends
abruptly, as the LK and Freedom collide, killing them both.

The film concludes with a statement giving the "official" fate of the astronauts,
describing them as having been killed in various accidents that left their bodies
unrecoverable. An epilogue explains that many of the rock samples returned from the
previous Apollo missions are now missing.

Cast
Warren Christie as Lunar Module Pilot Captain Benjamin "Ben" Anderson
Lloyd Owen as Commander Nathan "Nate" Walker
Ryan Robbins as Command Module Pilot Lieutenant Colonel John Grey
Andrew Airlie as CAPCOM (Thomas Young)
Michael Kopsa as Deputy Secretary of Defense
Production
Apollo 18 was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4] However, it has been promoted
as a "found footage" film that does not use actors. In an interview with
Entertainment Weekly, Dimension Films head Bob Weinstein "balk[ed] at the idea"
that the film was a work of fiction, stating that "We didn't shoot anything; we
found it. Found, baby!"[5][6]

The Science & Entertainment Exchange provided a science consultation to the film's
production team.[7] NASA was also "minimally involved with this picture," but
declined to go further with the project.[8]
The film is distributed by Dimension Films.[9]

Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes

Four alternate endings and one deleted scene are included in the DVD releases.

Alternate Endings
In the first ending, Anderson is in the LK. Walker is attacked by the creatures on
his helmet, and his head explodes, killing him. Then, Anderson is surrounded by the
aliens as the LK loses oxygen and he dies. The alien then leaves the shot,
concluding the first alternate ending.

In the second ending, Anderson is in the LK, under siege by the aliens. Suddenly,
an alien breaks the window of the LK and kills Anderson with a pincer.

In the third ending, an infected Anderson is in the LK after colliding with the
Freedom, where Grey was. An alarm begins to sound as the lander plummets back to
the Moon, having failed to reach escape velocity due to its collision with the
Freedom. The scene ends with what one could assume to be an impact with the surface
of the Moon, and Anderson's subsequent death (even if Anderson survived the crash,
he would still have to contend with his infection, the barrenness of the Moon, and
the hostile aliens).

In the final ending, Grey is seen arguing with a DoD member back on Earth, showing
that Grey survived the ordeal.

Deleted Scenes
A single deleted scene details the fate of the Russian Cosmonaut.

Background
The film concludes with a statement that the Nixon Administration gave away
hundreds of Moon rocks to foreign dignitaries around the world, and that many of
these Moon rocks have been lost or stolen. This is actually true; both the Nixon
and Ford Administrations gave away 135 Apollo 11 Moon rocks and 135 Apollo 17
goodwill Moon rocks. The Moon Rock Project, a joint effort of over 1,000 graduate
students started at the University of Phoenix in 2002, has helped track down,
recover or locate many Moon rocks and found that 160 are unaccounted for, lost or
destroyed.[10] In 1998, a sting operation, called Operation Lunar Eclipse, made up
of personnel from NASA's Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Postal
Inspection Service and U.S. Customs recovered the Honduras Apollo 17 goodwill Moon
rock, valued at $5 million. In October 2011, NASA agents raided a Denny's
restaurant and arrested a 74-year-old woman for attempting to sell a Moon rock from
Neil Armstrong for $1.7 million on the black market.[11]

Release
Apollo 18 was released on September 2, 2011 in multiple countries. Originally
scheduled for February 5, 2010, the film's release date was moved ten times between
2010 and 2011.[3][12][13][14][15][16]

Home media

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The film was released December 27, 2011 on DVD, Blu-ray, and online. Special
features include an audio commentary with director L�pez-Gallego and editor Patrick
Lussier, deleted and alternate scenes and endings, including footage of how the
Russian cosmonaut died and 4 alternate deaths of Ben Anderson.

Reception
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2017)
Apollo 18 has received mostly negative reviews from critics. On the online reviews
site Rotten Tomatoes, the film was given a 24% "rotten" score based on 71 reviews,
with the consensus "A boring, suspense-free Paranormal Activity rip-off that feels
long even at just 90 minutes",[17] and Metacritic, which gives an aggregate score
between 0 and 100, gives the film a 24 based on 19 critic reviews, which indicates
"generally unfavorable reviews".[18]

Conversely, Fred Topel of CraveOnline gave the film a positive review, saying that
the film "will shock you to your core" and that the last 10 minutes "are the most
exciting of any summer movie, and without motion capture effects."[19]

Box office