I saw Danny Boyle’s newest film, SUNSHINE, last Friday night, and as my friends and I left the theater, we had the sensation that we’d been staring directly into the sun for the past two hours. The film certainly doesn’t lack the intensity of his other works, TRAINSPOTTING and 28 DAYS LATER, both favorites of mine.

When I’d first seen the trailer I thought it just looked ridiculous. The premise - it is the future and a few young, attractive astronauts fly to the dying sun to reactivate it - was too implausible. Its only saving grace was the director.

He pulled it off. I was convinced and I was stimulated. I sat staring wide-eyed, hands covering my gaping mouth, throughout most of the movie. The visual effects were captivating and the plot extraordinarly absorbing. And that premise which I was so skeptical about transformed into something original and even possible. That is, up until the twist.

Boyle has tackled a variety of genres, but his forte is horror. Even TRAINSPOTTING, disturbing as it is, but not a horror flick, includes images that should only be in horror movies. (I had nightmares about the bloated baby crawling across the ceiling for weeks after I watched it.) Again, Boyle cannot help himself and halfway through SUNSHINE there is a twist that sends the plot reeling in another direction. Of course, I’m not going to reveal what that is, but with this turn, the plot becomes as implausible as I thought it would be going in, and way more intense than I could have imagined. Boyle adds his horror to the realm of science fiction.

I still loved the film. I’m still thinking about it a few days later, and when I watched the trailer online again, I couldn’t turn away. So despite the twist, despite the incredible intensity of it, I’d definately recommend it. Just be prepared when you go into the theater, and when you leave.