Review: Sputnik

When it comes to alien horror films, we immediately think of Ridley Scott’s Alien, James Cameron’s Aliens, John Carpenter’s The Thing, John McTiernan’s Predator and Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers to name but a few. Point is, people’s minds don’t stick with recent decades, they warp back to a golden age of the alien sub-genre of horror.

Even though there have been some standouts in recent times, like Scott Stewart’s Dark Skies and Gonzalo López-Gallego’s Apollo 18 which gave good effort, while Daniel Espinosa’s underrated Life and Olatunde Osunsanmi’s The Fourth Kind have being arguably the greatest, save for more experimental, albeit divisive, work like Alex Garland’s Annihilation and Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. But in Russian (with english subtitles) horror sci-fi Sputnik, we might have a new modern alien horror classic.

Set in 1983, two Russian cosmonauts are retiring from an orbital research mission, however their re-entry encounters an unforeseen problem, which leaves Konstantin Veshnyakov (Pyotr Fyodorov) as the sole survivor but all is not right. As fearless but controversial Doctor, Tatyana Klimova (Oksana Akinshina), is called in to the secret government facility, to help observe and assess Konstantin and the extent of this problem.

Egor Abramenko’s wowing directorial debut Sputnik is an absolutely golden find. Reminding of Alien Covenant, Life and even Ruben Fleischer’s Venom in its grave and dark aesthetic (the stony oppressive cinematography by Maxim Zhukov works a treat), the film has mainly been - naturally - compared with Scott’s towering landmark Alien.

However, while that is in some ways an agreeable comparability, I’d be more inclined to rank this one alongside David Cronenberg’s The Fly. Although, it very much integrates such film influences with its own story instead of being a pure homage. Sputnik is an alien film through a late Soviet-era lens, a soulful sci-fi horror, which shows the ugly face of heroism and sacrifice.

It's themes are sometimes timely, as it shows how patriotism can be used as a deceitful shield or how the pursuit of accolades can open many unethical doorways. Furthering this is the movie’s well designed, interesting and strongly developed alien “monster”, a creation which acts as a further reflection of some of the human themes at the beating heart of the film. Sputnik has a few layers to it, as Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev’s compelling screenplay is allowed to spread its gooey limbs, thanks to Abramenko’s controlled direction.

This is a brutal, bloody and slow paced, but a rivetingly unfolding film, with some surprises in it's tail and a glow of emotion beneath its protective space suit. As Oleg Karpachev’s largely stirring score is allowed to appropriately peak out from stretches of contemplative or escalating silences, much like the film’s extra-terrestrial presence itself.

Boasting impressive special effects work and some strong gory thrills, Sputnik is a mature entry in the genre, with much to say about adult commitments, of both professional and personal natures. The great performances at the head of it, only elevate it further, with a turbulent and afflicted performance by Fyodorov, a resilient and conflicted lead turn by Akinshina and a cold supporting role - which grows with its desperate edges - by Fyodor Bondarchuk.

Sputnik has arrived and we urge you to seek it out because it is a discovery well worth making and one you won’t regret. Not to mention one of the most interesting and engaging films of 2020.

15
Director: Egor Abramenko
Starring: Pyotr Fyodorov, Oksana Akinshina, Fyodor Bondarchuk
Release Date: Out Now (Sky Store; Amazon Prime; i-Tunes)