In 2018, Steven Spielberg took to SXSW with “Prepared Participant One,” a film totally constructed round providing homage and worship to the type of ’80s motion pictures Spielberg helped popularize. Evidently, the film wasn’t excellent. Now, director Jess Varley is making an attempt to make {that a} development with the SXSW premiere of “The Astronaut,” a film that references “Jurassic Park,” “Shut Encounters of the Third Sort,” and even “E.T.” whereas telling a psychological thriller about an astronaut going again residence. Sadly, identical to Spielberg couldn’t save “Prepared Participant One” even with Gundam-sized references, Varley’s homages and nods can’t assist save “The Astronaut” from a sudden tonal shift that takes away what makes the primary half of the movie attention-grabbing and brings it into redundant — and actually, fairly baffling — territory.
Kate Mara stars as Sam Walker, an astronaut returning residence from her very first mission in house. As a result of her reentry was greater than a bit bumpy (that means she virtually died after being hit by some mysterious object or drive earlier than splashdown), Sam is confined to a excessive safety home for medical testing and rehabilitation. All she needs to do is see her husband Mark (Gabriel Luna) and adopted daughter Izzy (Scarlet Holmes), however even when her father, Common William Harris (Laurence Fishburne) visits extra usually on official authorities enterprise, she is as remoted again on Earth as she was in house. The safety home is on a large but secluded property within the woods, the house can simply home a whole NASA crew, and that’s earlier than Sam learns of the frilly underground facility only a secret bookshelf away, the place she will be able to conceal in case the home enters lockdown throughout an emergency or an intrusion.
The primary half of the movie (a slightly brief watch at round 80 minutes plus plenty of credit) performs a bit muted on the horror, taking part in extra like a psychological thriller specializing in Sam’s isolation and the paranoia of being again on Earth. Using signs associated to astronauts reacclimating to Earth as a technique to discover Sam believing there are unusual issues occurring within the facility is intelligent (the filmmakers consulted a real-life astronaut on the results of coming again down and the method of reacclimation), as a lot of the first half of the movie performs as if it was totally attainable that is only a regular course of that can ultimately go away, probably not bizarre or unusual in any respect — even when the bruises on Sam’s arm that one way or the other maintain increasing all through her physique point out in any other case.
Issues change when Sam begins seeing what appears to be like to be large, unknown creatures across the property — although they don’t present up on any safety digital camera. Mara does an efficient job in portraying the rise in concern as an increasing number of unusual issues occur round the home and it turns into clear she will not be alone. Downside is, she will be able to’t precisely speak to anybody about this as she is resisting her signs and hiding sightings for concern she gained’t be allowed to return to house. This makes the primary half of the movie tense, and an attention-grabbing introspection of the character’s psyche in a haunted house-style state of affairs — the true nature of which takes some time to turn out to be clear.
Although the primary half of “The Astronaut” evokes motion pictures like Duncan Jones’ “Moon,” the film turns into one thing extra akin to “Sputnik” solely not anyplace close to that good. Varley makes use of the situation of the protected home and the encircling woods to construct some efficient set items, however within the final quarter-hour or so, the film takes a wild tonal shift that appears to desert each menace it launched. There’s an concept of multiracial households and adoptive households that the movie seemingly tries to supply profundities on, but it fails to truly arrive at any conclusion. As a substitute, the theme is seemingly used to recreate scenes from “E.T.” however with visible results nearer to one thing like “Mac and Me” — ambitiously bonkers, however in the end empty. Even when “The Astronaut” does a homage to “Jurassic Park” and totally recreates the kitchen scene, it comes throughout as an empty nod, a reminder of higher motion pictures that truly have one thing to say.
Grade: D
“The Astronaut” premiered at SXSW 2025. It’s at the moment in search of U.S. distribution.
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