Supernova warped onto Blu-ray from Scream Factory on January 14.
In 2000, a space-set science fiction film called Supernova was released, but you certainly wouldn’t be expected to know that. It hardly registered on the cultural radar. I only became aware of it after seeing it in a friend’s DVD collection, which therein represents the extent of my experience with it — and that’s probably more than most.
Undoubtedly, the film was hurt by a deeply troubled production. It began much like a far better-known and better respected film, Alien: a moderately budgeted script which found Walter Hill attached, and intended to use concepts designed by H.R. Giger. But it was all downhill from there. Hill, the director, ran into significant studio interference including unexpected budget cuts, eventually causing him to exit the project in frustration. He’s credited under the pseudonym of Thomas Lee. After his departure, the film was modified into further edits by replacement director Jack Sholder and later by Francis Ford Coppola. It’s unclear just how much of Hill’s film has survived. The film finally released to theaters in PG-13 form before an R-rated cut was made available on DVD. The R-rated cut is the version included on this new Blu-ray edition.
So what exactly is this monstrosity? Well, despite the troubled history and some weak spots, it’s actually not half bad. There’s a mostly agreeable cast and more importantly, some very memorable scenes that try to handle some science fiction aspects in ways we haven’t seen before.
A medical response ship, essentially a kind of space ambulance, receives a distress call from across deep space. Its crew includes James Spader and Angela Bassett (our primary protagonists), Lou Diamond Phillips, Robin Tunney, Wilson Cruz, and Robert Forster (who I’ll watch in pretty much anything) as their captain. The ship is equipped with an unstable warp technology capable of making the trip, but it’s considered dangerous, thanks to the tendency to occasionally scramble a passenger’s body. The captain weighs the situation and decides to make the emergency jump. Dr. Kaela Evers (Bassett) recognizes the name Karl Larson as her evil ex, but doesn’t get a chance to relay her concerns.
Undoubtedly, some of the film’s coolest and most memorable scenes are centered around the warp jumps. Every space film that does something like this must wrestle with finding a way to visualize the superspeed process without clearly aping the trippy colors of 2001: A Space Odyssey or the zoomy extrusion of a starfield like Star Wars, and Supernova does quite admirably in this respect with a unique visual approach. During the jumps, we see one character meet a very grisly demise. On the flipside, another pair of characters gets a minor DNA swap, and it’s a rare moment of wonder and beauty that really stood out to me (it’ll make sense when you see it).
Arriving at their destination, the crew is faced with a couple of major setbacks. The young man who made the distress call (Peter Facinelli) claims to be the son of the now-deceased Karl Larson, and has found a mysterious artifact (sort of a big glowing crystal), and despite his chirpy demeanor, is clearly hiding something. Oh, and there’s a Blue Giant ready to go supernova near where they landed but the ship needs time to recharge for another jump. So there are two plot elements at play, a race against time and the introduction of an untrustworthy character and his MacGuffin.
Larson is clearly obsessed with the artifact, and it begins to have the same impact on crew member Yerzy Penalosa (Phillips). Besides becoming the object of fascination, the exposure seems to make him stronger and more vigorous, consistent with the physiology of the mysterious stranger.
The film makes a turn toward horror in its last act, recalling Event Horizon of just a few years earlier. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the sloppy seconds certainly didn’t do it any favors (Event Horizon is clearly the better film).
While none of the crew members get particularly deep story arcs, we do get to see a little of what makes each of them tick: a sensitive captain whose decisions demonstrate his valor, a recovered drug addict, a pair of lovers who plan to have a child together, a smart but childlike tech geek who falls in love with the ship’s computer Siri– er, Sweetie (which is somehow even sillier than it sounds), and a doctor whose past may endanger them all.
The biggest surprise for me was Spader — he’s in great form here. I usually think of him as being kind of dorky or… egg-like? But here he’s gruffly voiced, stoic, handsome and chiseled — quite remarkable leading man material. He and Angela Bassett have a nice chemistry, though it plays more as a natural camaraderie based on intelligence than as the romance that develops between their characters.
Whenever there’s a discussion of science fiction, you can bet there will be members of the audience who get hung up on the “science” part of it. Without necessarily pinpointing why, I can say that Supernova is likely to drive those kinds of viewers crazy. The relatively unbelievable futuristic science is simply presented with little attempt to legitimize or explain it. The warp technology, flawed as it is, simply exists. The mysterious artifact which drives the film’s primary conflict is pure fiction, hewing closer to sorcery than science.
Aside from a general lack of direction (in this case, literally), the film’s biggest hurdle may be its predictability. I’d figured out the Karl Larson mystery almost immediately. I suppose this could be attributed to editing, but I think the story just offers too many clues.
Overall, this is an enjoyable movie with some very good (and a couple of bad) performances, and certainly one with an interesting history. It’s no lost classic, and I’m not sure where it fits into Scream Factory’s strategy (isn’t this more of a Shout Factory title?) but I’m glad to have caught this 2000 space oddity.
The Package
Supernova warped onto Blu-ray from Scream Factory on January 14.
It’s a nice release, though certainly not a deluxe one by Scream Factory’s standards. There’s no slipcover or reversible art, but it’s a great disc with a respectable slate of extras.
Special Features and Extras
Making of “Supernova” (25:01)
This 25-minute feature has interviews from a handful of cast and crew. Sadly no Walter Hill, but replacement director Jack Sholder is pretty honest about some of his thoughts on the film’s rocky journey and reception.
Theatrical Trailer (2:18)
Holy smokes. This may be the worst trailer I’ve ever seen. You know those fan-made joke trailers on Youtube that try to recast films into another genre? This is basically one of those, only it’s the actual trailer. An upbeat voiceover and pop music (Sugar Ray!?) completely misrepresent this as a goofy adventure-comedy. No wonder the movie bombed. You need to see this just for its awfulness. So here it is!
Deleted Scenes (14:40) and Alternate Ending (5:27)
There’s quite a bit of deleted stuff, which is probably indicative of the film’s lack of direction and trouble in the editing room. Some interesting stuff here, albeit presented in fairly rough quality.
More From Scream Factory
Theatrical trailers for Life Force (1:27), The Incredible Melting Man (1:04), and Invaders From Mars (1:28).
A/V Out.