Macabre…ish Horror Review: The Tank
The Tank, 2017/ 1 hr 25 min
Six people enter a sealed environment with no sunlight, no fresh air and no contact with the outside world. It’s a Mars simulation, the mission is supposed to last 471 days and Ice SAT-5 aka The Tank is located in Antarctica. They were sealed inside in August, 21, 2012.
Among the volunteers there’s a Sociologist and Anthropologist (Thom Jason), Geologist (Julia Meyers), former Air Force Pilot (Will Sacks), Biomedical Engineer (Luke Millens), Medical Scientist (Dr. Nelly Rugin) and former US Marine (Dane Hankeard).
Inside the Tank, is everything you expect a living space to have including a greenhouse, a gym, a living room, kitchen, hygiene facility, work shop and individual rooms plus an area that mimics Mars’ terrain where they suit up and practice. Along with their duties they can send one message a week to their families.
For a long while, the group was doing ok and in good spirits but then the cracks started to show, by the time November 12th came around the crew is more on edge more than usual. Then the first power outage happens during a bad storm and Luke (Erik King) is starting to act strange. And no power means no oxygen. Then Thom (Christopher Redman) has a seizure. And on top of all that, The Deck, isn’t responding. But someone is watching.
After a while, fights are breaking out and one crew member is slowly spiraling into religious psychosis. By December 15th, the crew is no longer the cohesive unit they once were. They are now opting for solitude, they are in one way or another suffering the effects of prolonged isolation and it’s not just uncomfortable, it’s getting a little scary.
It turns out, among the crew are people who failed the psychological evaluation and very recently lost close family members. And one of the crew is spending his time building a weapon.
By April 19th, Dane (Brad William Henke) has an ugly wound that isn’t healing, Luke is having very spirited conversations with himself, when he’s not praying or reading his bible. And Will (Jack Davenport) is bursting into tears by the thought of his daughter.
They make it to August 6th and are packing for the end of the mission and return home. But with just a few hours to go, Luke announces that he’s sure they’re on Mars, that this never was a simulation and he’s certain that hatch will not open. Then he pulls out a homemade gun. What transpires next is so insane that three people die within minutes. Two by suicide, one is shot, one goes missing and one gets an amputation. And Luke was half right, the hatch never did open. And mission control is silent.
If only they knew, three days ago they received a message from The Deck, their exit date has been pushed out two to four weeks. Bad news because two of the crew need medical care or they won’t survive. And the blizzard outside is so brutal that it rolls The Tank, several times, further compromising their situation. And even if they could escape, it’s -75 degrees outside.
By the time it’s all over, only one will be left and the program manager and Creative director, Reed Baker will be heading to trial after facing an inquiry about how this could turn into such a disaster.
This is based on a true story.
This film was directed by Kellie Madison and it’s a thriller. It’s well paced and composed. I really enjoyed this!