The year is 2242 and Earth has become unliveable. Those who can afford to leave are being shuttled off the dying planet and to their new home, inventively dubbed “New Earth”. Thomas Jane and Bruce Willis are the two big names attached to Breach (formerly known as Anti-Life), a low-budget, direct-to-VOD space thriller from genre filmmaker John Suits; though Jane only receives about ten minutes of screen time, Willis is a steady presence throughout, bringing grizzled charisma to this otherwise unremarkable genre fare.
Aboard the last ship leaving Earth is a pregnant Hayley (Kassandra Clementi) and her stowaway boyfriend Noah (Riverdale’s Cody Kearsley), the latter of whom poses as a member of the ship’s small custodial staff, the only people awake while the rest of the 300,000 passengers slumber in cryostasis. As one might have garnered from the title, it isn’t long before the crew realises something alien has breached their ship and is turning people into black goo-oozing zombies.
Breach cannot quite decide on its tone. Despite the B-movie fun and dead-pan quips, writers Corey Large and Edward Drake seem to be trying for serious drama with Kearsley’s protagonist – unfortunately, the characterisation is as devoid of humour and energy as it is of depth, causing him to disappear amidst the supporting cast. The latter is rounded out by some recognisable faces doing their best to sell the material, from Timothy V. Murphy eagerly chewing the scenery as Commander Stanley, to Rachel Nichols offering a grounding presence as ship medic Chambers.
As far as sci-fi actions go, Breach is reasonably produced, and much of the cast are clearly having a grand old time. Unfortunately, it’s also completely forgettable and never quite succeeds in hitting its stride, confused as it is about its own identity.
