People have tried to replicate the success of Moon with various other titles, like Air and Passengers, but they always seem to miss the point that a film with just a few characters needs something more, not less, than a movie with a lot of people in it.

Unfortunately, that is the case of Atomica/Deep Burial. There are three characters in total, with one of them secondary to the story. And before the big reveal, 20 minutes before the end, nothing much happens than two people talking to each other in a climate of rising suspicion.

The acting is good, the psychological aspect of the thriller is pretty good, but the story is completely empty, as is the message in the end. And the funny thing is that the science fiction part of the movie is completely superfluous. They could have easily done the same scenario in the real world, with more of an impact.

As such, with a future world that feels remote and with characters that have no backstory or much character development, the film is just slow and hard to endure, with no real payback in the end, since no one cared what happens in the first place.

The near future. Eager safety inspector Abby Dixon (a perky and appealing portrayal by Sarah Habal) gets sent to check out a nuclear power plant after communications at said plant go offline. After arriving at the facility Abby begins to suspect that one of the plant employees isn't what he appears to be.

Director Dagen Merrill keeps the compelling story moving along at a constant pace, makes excellent use of the sprawling underground facility main location, maintains a properly serious tone throughout, and generates a good deal of claustrophobic tension. The fine acting from the sturdy cast keeps this movie humming: Dominic Monaghan brings a winning blend of charm and vigor to the juicy role of the quirky, chatty, and sarcastic Robinson while Tom Sizemore nicely underplays as the untrustworthy Dr. Zek. The CGI effects are quite impressive considering the modest budget. A cool little flick.

The film takes place about a century in the future. A company (Oxzilla?) has created a tri-fission reactor (whatever that is) that works on converting radioactive waste into atomic energy to power the world (nuclear physics says not possible, you really need a neutron source, but I just went with it). The opening talks about a site where they had three atomic accidents, however there were tri-fisson reactors around the world on waste sites. So I am guessing this was the accident site.

Abbey Dixon (Sarah Habel) a young engineer without much field experience gets the short straw when a remote location loses contact and has to go out there wearing a form fitting personal "radiation" suit. Suits are for contamination and not radiation, but I let that one go as Hollywood and the general public don't know the difference and interchange the words, liking "radiation" to describe everything radioactive. When she arrives she is greeted by a half-wit with a bad cough named Robinson (Dominic Monaghan). For the next hour or so we watch her run tests on the facility as Robinson watches her. She is attempting to locate Dr. Zek not knowing the type of character Tom Sizemore plays in films.

Eventually the drama plays out.

First off if an area gets contaminated, they pave over it and don't let it breath to the atmosphere. If you drive into the parking lot of a nuclear facility that has eight inches deep of paving, turn around. Another issue is that Abbey claimed the Becquerel level had increased. Becquerel is a unit for contamination. I doubt that is what she meant. It sounds scientific, but Gray or Sievert would have been the correct phrases. It she had said, "The Gray level has increased" that would not have worked. Sievert or milliSievert would have been the best. If you have radiation sickness, you don't walk around like you have a sore throat. If you are not hurling chunks or sitting on the bowl, you will have no energy to be active.

PLOT SPOILER CLUES: The film was shot In Washington State, downwind of Hanford. In 1949 Hanford did a "Green Run" experiment where they released a few dozen curies of I-131. They studied the plume and the animals within the plume. The public found out in the 1980's. The sites for government nuclear facilities and bomb test sites are located, according to government documents, where the down winders are a "limited use" (expendable) segment of the population. I am sure the anti-nuclear crowd had the Green Run in mind when they made this film which unfortunately demonstrated they knew nothing about reactors or radiation. But hey, it is the thought that counts.

Guide: No swearing or sex. Dominic Monaghan looks at Sarah Habel in the shower. We get to see all of him and the back of her head.