Directed by Ruairi Robinson, with a screenplay by Clive Dawson, this British science-fiction thriller premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It had a limited release in the United Kingdom in September, followed up by an equally limited release in North America in December and pedestrian reviews.
As the film opens, an eight-person crew is just hours away from winding up a six-month mission on Mars and returning home to Earth. Desperate to gather one last sample of rock that seems to indicate the presence of fossilized bacteria, one of the scientists goes back out on the Martian surface. A minor catastrophe ensues, and things go downhill from there.
The Last Days on Mars screens at the RPL Theatre Thursday and Saturday at 9 p.m. and Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m. Here’s the trailer:
