Movies
[Review] ‘Sputnik’ Puts Slow Character Study at Forefront of Gory Creature Feature
Ridley Scott’s Alien left an indelible mark on horror set in space. It’s hard not to default and defer to Alien whenever there’s a particularly nasty extraterrestrial in horror, especially if there’s a birthing scene. Sputnik attempts to buck comparisons with an Earth-based character study cast in the Cold War’s drab shadow. There’s a lot to like about this creature feature and its gory man-eating monster, but Sputnik prefers to lean into its character-based drama.
Tatiana Yurievna (Oksana Akinshina) is a passionate young doctor. However, her willingness to push well past the boundaries of ethical medical practice prompted an inquiry that’ll likely result in the revocation of her license. The controversy draws the attention of military officer Semiradov (Fedor Bondarchuk), who recruits Tatiana to assess a unique case at a secret research facility outside Russia. That case centers on cosmonaut Konstantin Sergeyevich (Pyotr Fyodorov), the sole survivor of a mysterious space incident that unwittingly left him with an extraterrestrial stowaway. As in, a creature lives inside him and leaves his body every night while he’s unconscious.
The script by Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev is much more interested in getting to know Tatiana, her unorthodox methods and drive, and her slow-building connection with Konstantin than it is in getting to see the alien in action. Meaning that the alien’s on-screen time is minimal compared to Tatiana’s measured search for the truth. It’s a shame because the movie springs to life every time the creature crawls out of Konstantin’s mouth, whether eviscerating prey or curious about its new habitat. Once Tatiana regains the focus, the film lulls back into quiet meditation for long stretches. With a nearly two-hour run time, you feel that unhurried pacing.
Directed by Egor Abramenko, Sputnik is gorgeously shot, even with its glib ’80s setting. That the humans are reserved characters that keep their emotions hidden deep behind scowls only enhances the cold, aloof mood of the film. That’s the point. As exhilarating as the creature moments are, this film exists more as a commentary on the era and how it shapes the discovery of an extraterrestrial that’s attached itself to a public figure. Konstantin’s space mission that left his partner dead is never explained, but his native country is so in need of heroes to boost morale that it doesn’t matter. So as not to rob Russia of a hero, he’s moved to a facility out of the country. The intent is to keep the parasitic entity from tarnishing an icon of hope. Much of Sputnik is about what’s not said and reading between the lines. There’s much more to Tatiana and Semiradov than meets the eye, and the film bides its time peeling back their layers. That aloofness makes it challenging to find the film’s main point. Tatiana is the grounding center, but there are a few plot threads and ideas lost in the drama.
Expectations going in will play a pivotal role in reception. Those imagining a briskly paced creature feature that puts the genre elements first will come away sorely disappointed. Those that go in knowing it’s a meditative character study by way of a subtle mood piece, punctuated by moments of blood-soaked violence, will have a much easier time settling into this drab world. Ultimately, Sputnik merges a monster movie with a beautiful, detached drama, and the former is the far more successful of the two. It’s also the more sparsely used of the two. Abramenko doesn’t quite successfully separate his film from its Alien influence, but there’s enough to keep you intrigued and longing for more monster mayhem.
Sputnik crash lands in theaters and VOD on August 14, 2020.
This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!
The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.
The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.
In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”
Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.
Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.
A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.
Check your local listings to find a theater near you.
Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).
“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.
“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”
The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.
The film is now streaming only on Peacock.
“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.
Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.
Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.
“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”
The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by HUNGRY.
All aboard the swamp tour from hell – this hippo isn’t playing games…
HUNGRY is now available on Digital. Watch it now!
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