Dead Space: Downfall

Dead Space: Downfall
Directed by	Chuck Patton
Produced by	Joe Goyette Robert Weaver
Written by	Justin Gray Jimmy Palmiotti
Starring	Nika Futterman Jeff Bennett Bruce Boxleitner Hal Sparks Kelly Hu Kevin Michael Richardson
Music by	Seth Podowitz
Studio	Film Roman Electronic Arts
Distributed by	Electronic Arts Manga Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release date(s)	October 28, 2008
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States Template:Film Korea
Language	English

Dead Space: Downfall is an animated film, a prequel to the game Dead Space and takes place during the events of Dead Space: Extraction, while the Necromorphs invade the USG Ishimura after it receives the Red Marker. The film, developed by Film Roman and EA, was released on DVD October 28, 2008 and broadcast on the Syfy Channel on December 2, 2008.

Plot

The film revolves around an alien artifact discovered by colonists on the planet Aegis VII. The artifact is identified as a possible "second Marker" and the colony asks for advice via radio, which prompts the arrival of the mining ship Ishimura.

While the ship approaches, the colony already reports (via radio) "unexplained violence" among colonists. The Marker is brought aboard by order of Captain Mathius. Alissa Vincent (Nika Futterman), head of security, demands that Mathius (Jim Cummings) allow an investigation of the recent outbreak of violence. Mathius remains firm in the belief that nothing is amiss. However, one of the next scenes shows a miner in sickbay, who has killed two of his colleagues, being sedated as he struggles against his restraints and says he wants to be killed.

Meanwhile, on the planet, two miners check an outpost that has gone silent, while the Ishimura brings up a chunk of the planet to mine. The men discover something amiss and one goes in search of his wife, while his partner vanishes during a blackout. In his wife's room, the man sees his beloved, Jen (Lia Sargent), commit suicide. As the man flees the facility in a shuttle bound for the Ishimura, he is unaware of an alien presence attaching itself to his deceased wife.

The vessel piloted by the surviving miner crashes into the hangar just as he is killed by his mutated wife. Vincent and her team are dispatched to contain the situation but discover nothing aboard the small ship, then depart to find out what caused the crash. Kyne (Keith Szarabajka) suggest they call for help, but Mathius says that Aegis VII is a restricted area and they are not supposed to be there.

Down in the sickbay, the previously sedated man awakens to discover alien creatures mutating the corpses in the morgue, only to be killed. Hostilities begin to break out as members of a religious group, the Unitologists, whom beg for a glimpse of the Marker, a key icon in their belief; however, they are quickly dispersed by engineer Samuel Irons (Kevin Michael Richardson), a Unitologist himself, who suggests that they should not behave like fanatics.

The situation turns grim throughout the ship as the chaos and body count rise. Heather (Grey DeLisle), a young women working on the ship is stalked and is killed after she almost escapes the monsters in the bathroom. Kyne says that the Marker is responsible, but Mathius is in denial because he would have to put the Marker back and face a court martial if the government knew they were in the restricted system. A confrontation between Mathius and Kyne leads to Mathius being accidentally killed by Kyne, who then flees. Things take a turn for the worst as control of the ship itself turns against the crew when the lifeboats are inexplicably launched empty and their communications systems destroyed, making any chance of rescue nonexistent.

Vincent and her team arrive at the morgue where a Necromorph kills a teammate before being dispatched, and they struggle to make their way back to safety, but are confronted by a horde of Necromorphs and some team members die horrifying deaths in the fighting. When it looks like conventional weapons are useless, Samuel Irons arrives on the scene with a mining tool and cuts down the creatures. A member of the team named Hanson (Phil Morris) goes insane and kills fellow teammate Shen (Kelly Hu), ending in Hanson being killed by Ramirez (Hal Sparks). Vincent, Irons, and Ramirez return to the bridge where they learn that the ship is almost entirely overrun; then they discover that Kyne is sabotaging the ship's engines, planning to crash the ship into the planet below in order to scuttle the ship and destroy the alien outbreak before it could leave the system.

On their way to confront Kyne, Vincent and the others discover survivors being attacked by Necromorphs and go to save them. Using himself as bait, Irons buys time for Vincent and Ramirez to extract the scared crew members before being killed and turned into a Necromorph himself. The survivors are overwhelmed by more Necromorphs and Ramirez sacrifices himself to give Vincent a head start for the control room where Kyne is hiding. Vincent confronts Kyne who claims that his actions were necessary, and steals her weapon as she tries to save the ship, but learns that her efforts were in vain.

Vincent finds herself surrounded by Necromorphs. She then discovers that the creatures cannot come into close proximity with the artifact, realizing what has kept the aliens imprisoned on Aegis VII, but Vincent doesn't care and breaks down. Spurred on by a brief vision of Ramirez, Vincent leaves a video log that details the entire events. She uploads the video log she made to the distress beacon, opens the airlock and activates the distress beacon on a downed shuttle just a few feet from the marker. The distress beacon launches into space and takes Vincent and the Necromorphs with it.

Vincent's body drifts into the infinite as the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star plays. The story ends just as the Kellion arrives and prepares to dock on the Ishimura, the beginning of Dead Space.

Cast

• Nika Futterman - Alissa Vincent
• Jim Cummings - Captain Mathius, Farum
• Hal Sparks - Ramirez
• Phil Morris - Hansen, Glenn
• Kelly Hu - Shen
• Keith Szarabajka - Dr. Terrence Kyne
• Kevin Michael Richardson - Samuel Irons, Pendleton, Miner
• Jeff Bennett - Leggio, Dobbs, Jackson
• Grey DeLisle - Heather, Donna Fawkes
• Bruce Boxleitner - Colin Barrow
• Lia Sargent - Jen Barrow, Walla/ADR 1
• Maurice LaMarche - White, Bavaro
• Bob Neill - Cartusian, Walla/ADR 2
• Jim Piddock - Chic
• Shelly O'Neill - Walla/ADR 5
• Kirk Baily - Walla/ADR 4
• David Allen Kramer - Walla/ADR 3

Sequel

A second film based on the Dead Space franchise has been released. Dead Space: Aftermath was released on January 25th, 2011, alongside Dead Space 2.

External links

• Official website
• Dead Space: Downfall at the Internet Movie Database
• The Numbers