''Galaxy of Horrors'' is a 2017 Canadian

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

consisting of eight

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

within larger "

wraparound Wraparound, wrap around, or wrap-around is anything that wraps around something. It may more specifically refer to: Apparel * Wraparound sunglasses or goggles * Wraparound baby sling, or wrap, a piece of cloth that supports a baby * Wraparound ...

" framing sequences before and after each of the shorts, in which a man (Adam Buller) wakes from a

cryogenic In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...

sleep pod and is forced to watch the films as entertainment while his life-support runs out. The shorts are by international filmmakers such as

Antonio Padovan Antonio Padovan is an Italian-born film director, film producer, producer, screenwriter, and video artist who lives in New York City, known for his short films ''Socks and Cakes'' (2010), ''Jack Attack (film), Jack Attack'' (2013), ''Eveless'' (2 ...

, Javier Chillon, Benni Diez and Marinko Spahić, while Justin McConnell directed the wraparound.

Plot

Untitled wraparound

Mr. Brown wakes up in deep space trapped in his

stasis pod. Unable to get out because of a faulty system asking him for a password, he is forced to wait and watch science fiction horror shorts chosen by the computer for his entertainment, even though this is draining the life support system. During the brief intermissions, he tries guessing the password again and again, with events taking a more and more dire turn.

''Eden''

In a future United States, a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

has poisoned the air and very few people can survive for long without a

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...

. One of the factions manages to infiltrate a compound on the other side with the aim of assassinating the president and liberating one of their own who has a natural immunity to the air and is the victim of torture and experiments.

''Iris''

A man named Dave tries to hide a dead body, but his

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

's AI, Iris, has developed a sense of ethics and justice, challenging his actions and finding ways to thwart him.

''Flesh Computer''

A weary handyman does his best to maintain order and care for his cybernetic "pet project", a strange mix of machine and flesh. But when a pair of thuggish residents threaten a young girl, the line between human and machine becomes blurred.

''Pathos''

A man is hooked up to a machine via a large tube attached to the top of his head; he pays for experiences, his senses, and life itself with increasing desperation as the computer system steadily blocks each of his senses after he has an unauthorized thought.

''Eveless''

In a future world where women no longer exist, two men have desperately tried to conceive. One of them is in labour and neither is prepared for what is about to happen.

''They Will All Die in Space''

Two men wake a third from stasis in the hope he can fix their damaged ship, adrift in deep space. As he begins work, he realizes things are not quite what they seem.

''Entity''

Minutes after the technical failure of her spacecraft, an

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

finds herself ejected into space. She tries in vain to call for help. She is slowly running out of air. Little by little, fear grabs hold of her, and she faints. After floating adrift for several hours through the immensity of space, she awakens to find herself facing a strange and

sentient Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...

entity in the form of a

nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

''Kingz''

Two drug couriers go to an underground club to make a delivery but come up against something not of this world.

Production

The anthology film is the second collaboration between Rue Morgue Cinema and the Little Terrors short films festival, following ''Minutes Past Midnight''. The feature is the brain-child of Little Terrors founder Justin McConnell, who wrote and directed the narrative links between the shorts, and Indiecan Entertainment's Avi Federgreen.

Release and reception

''Galaxy of Horrors'' had a premiere in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

at Imagine Cinemas Carlton on 1 March 2017.

Home media and streaming

The ''Galaxy of Horrors'' anthology was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and special edition

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

in 2017. The anthology was made available through various video on demand options on the IndieCan Entertainment website, on 7 March 2017, and on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

Critical response

A number of reviewers found similarities in the film or individual segments with the '' Black Mirror'' series, usually as a point in the anthology's favour. Carl Fisher is impressed by the "seriously high production values", remarking that "some of the visuals ... are simply stunning". Addison Wylie described the "claustrophobic wraparound short" by Justin McConnell as "semi-meta" and "pretty clever"; a bit of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'' dowsed in '' Heavy Metal'': "The videos play for him – and for us – in a disjointed order; a forgivable trait since ''Galaxy of Horrors'' basically throws the audience into immediate abruptness." Carl Fisher called its story "minimal but with a fun payoff." Karina Adelgaard appreciated the intermissions as "little nuggets of comedy" and a "welcome relief" since most of the shorts are very dark.

Sequel

The next film in the series compiled by Justin McConnell is ''Blood, Sweat, and Terrors'' (2018).

References

External links

Official trailer
*{{IMDb title, tt6188002 Canadian horror anthology films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Canadian science fiction horror films 2017 drama films 2017 films 2010s science fiction horror films 2010s Canadian films