The “rules” on how to kill these suckers aren’t exactly clear. Evidently, in “Dead Space,” everyone can hear you scream. While a team of six-foot soldiers attempt to contain the menace, the hapless crew bites it in myriad ways: There’s impaling, beheading, disemboweling and being sawed neatly in half with a space-age mining tool. All it takes is one sting from these manta ray-looking creatures (delivered through the skull, for maximum gross-out potential) and the target human instantly transforms, their existing limbs sharpening into long spears while their torsos rip open from inside to reveal a second set of arms. It starts when the ship’s captain uproots a twisted relic from a distant mining planet, unleashing some nasty flying aliens in the process. Instead of treating this depressing no-one-left-standing story with the heroic-sacrifice bombast of “300” or “The Alamo,” director Chuck Patton seems to have made “Downfall” if only to highlight all the ghastly ways humans can die. That said, it’s hard to imagine non-gamers finding much to enjoy in watching the systematic wipeout of the Ishimura crew, which ends precisely when the game starts.

From the technique side, “Downfall” ain’t half bad as small-screen animation goes, with the Film Roman team applying a macho “Venture Bros.” style to the futuristic material.

Dead Space: Downfall animator