Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
When astronaut Sam Walker crash-lands on earth, there is a hole in her craft, and a suspicious injury on her hand. She is quarantined in a swanky remote mansion in the woods, where disturbing events begins to take place.
Written and directed by Jess Varley, ‘The Astronaut’ is a sci-fi horror thriller starring Kate Mara as Sam Walker, the astronaut protagonist struggling to readjust to life on Earth. Determined to pass a series of evaluations to secure her next mission, Sam begins experiencing strange nocturnal disturbances inside her secluded mansion, leaving her to question her sanity. She begins to wonder if extraterrestrial beings might have followed her to earth or if she is unraveling under psychological strain.
Kate Mara delivers a tensely convincing performance as the driven yet emotionally distant Sam, whose space ambitions eclipses her devotion to her husband (Gabriel Luna) and little daughter (Scarlett Holmes). She is so desperate to get back into a spacesuit that she ignores a dangerous growing wound in her body, and keeps lying to her evaluators.
Despite an intriguing premise, ‘The Astronaut’ shows several cracks in its internal logic. The medical team assigned to monitor Sam visits daily without wearing masks or protective gear, which undermines the premise of strict quarantine. If contamination is not such a big concern, why is she isolated at all? And if it isn’t, why is she left alone in a vast mansion despite openly expressing fear and distress? Someone could’ve easily volunteered to say in one of the extra rooms at the sprawling property she is staying in.
In another instance of flawed logic, just seconds after Sam is informed that her quarantine home is a world-class, self-powered fortress of modern science, there is a power outage. Cue the dramatic flicker of lights. Because nothing screams elite aerospace infrastructure quite like electrical failure at the first sign of tension. Not too surprisingly, she loses network too. The whole sequence plays like Sci-Fi Horror 101: flip the breaker, cut the Wi-Fi, roll the spooky soundtrack. Instead of escalating fear, it borders on being comedic.
Given that Sam is show hallucinating in the opening minutes of the film, most viewers will instantly be skeptical about what’s real and what’s not, since the story unfolds from the astronaut’s perspective. Of course there is considerable suspense over what really is happening to the astronaut, further complicated by the fact that she might be under 24*7 surveillance.
Laurence Fishburne stumbles in his portrayal of General William Harris, Sam’s adoptive father and the authority overseeing her quarantine. In the climactic minutes, the General has an important emotional scene, which the actor delivers so flatly that it diffuses the tension of the moment.
Just when you think things cannot get more predictable and boring, ‘The Astronaut’ delivers a last minute twist, complete with a chaotic flashback, which changes the entire narrative of the tale. A few of the earlier loopholes begin to make a little sense, even if not 100% convincingly, and Sam’s deteriorating physical condition too is justified.
Overall, this is just about watchable, thanks to Kate Mara’s earnest performance and a tight runtime that doesn’t drag things out.
Rating: 5 on 10. Watch ‘The Astronaut’ on Prime Video.
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