Life

(Cert 15, 104 mins)

Daniel Espinosa’s otherworldly thriller unfolds almost entirely just above Earth’s orbit, where six plucky scientists encounter a terrifying extraterrestrial threat in claustrophobic confines.

Russian commander Katerina Golovkin (Olga Dihovichnaya) leads a sixstrong international team of the Mars Pilgrim 7 Mission.

One soil sample from Mars contains a singlecelled lifeform – affectionately christened Calvin – which responds to stimulation by glucose.

Alas, Calvin grows in size at a ferocious rate and eventually attacks one astronaut.

Alarm bells sound and remaining crew pool resources to exterminate Calvin before the fully grown creature can escape the space station and descend on planet Earth.

Life is a formulaic, yet entertaining, battle for survival that slaughters cast one by one as Calvin demonstrates he is smarter than the average xenomorph. The crew might not see what is hurtling towards them but we certainly can.