We never see any of the astronauts, we only hear their fate via a crackly transmission played out as the ship slowly trundles across the galaxy until it unceremoniously explodes. The film’s budgetary limitations are clearly laid out in the brief prologue, when the first manned expedition to Mars is brought down near the planet’s surface.

Director Hasraf Dulull offers Katee Sackhoff some guidance on set While it isn’t quite on a par with those aforementioned films, 2036 Origin Unknown is still an intriguing and through-provoking little yarn which is bolstered no end by a fantastic, fully committed lead performance from Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff and an absorbing, distinctly dystopian premise.

Katee Sackhoff returns to space after five years as Starbuck in Battlestar GallacticaĬinema has long been a proponent of ultra-low budget but impactful sci-fi, with films like Primer, Pi, Monsters, Another Earth showing a resourcefulness in theme and story with very little money to play with. But more often than not, those ideas were strong enough to transcend the practical limitations. Many of the show’s episodes – some written by prominent sci-fi authors of the era – flirted with grand concepts and potent allegory which often could only be explored via dialogue, owing to limited costs and the visual effects constraints of the day. The 60s Star Trek TV series is a prime example of this. Traditionally, the sci-fi genre has been the place to explore big ideas, even if the budget is anything but epic.

2036 origin unknown review