By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Starring Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Luna
Written and directed by Jess Varley
Vertical
THE ASTRONAUT successfully achieves liftoff, with a confidently and attractively filmed scene in the aftermath of a splashdown. Speedboats and a helicopter race to retrieve NASA captain Sam Walker (Kate Mara) from a capsule bobbing in the middle of the ocean, bearing damage that, a couple of ominous shots suggest, is not normal for this kind of re-entry. Sure enough, Sam’s trip into space has scary ramifications now that she’s back on Earth, through this promising setup gives way to a scientifically oriented variation on the old story of a character who won’t get out of a haunted house while the getting is good.
After a short stint in hospital quarantine, during which she’s visited by her estranged husband Mark (Gabriel Luna) and their young daughter Izzy (Scarlett Holmes), Sam is whisked off to a much more attractive form of isolation. She’s sequestered in an expansive, ultra-modern house in the middle of the Virginia woods (filmed on beautiful Irish locations), fully stocked with everything she could need. Her introduction to it is reminiscent of the Torrances being shown around the Overlook in THE SHINING, and when she’s told the nearest house is miles away, she quips, “Sounds like a horror movie.” Little does she know…
At first, as she undergoes physical and mental rehabilitation, the only trauma she undergoes is what she’s told are the expected side effects of readjusting to our atmosphere: bouts of tinnitus and an occasional nosebleed. She also experiences “antigravity hallucinations” of floating objects, though fairly early on, first-time feature writer/director Jess Varley makes it clear these sights are not just in her head. In general, THE ASTRONAUT eschews the question of whether Sam is just imagining the unsettling events that distress her while she’s alone in that house. It’s not long before they lead her to believe that something may have hitched a ride back to our planet with her.
Varley (who has had small acting roles in OFFSEASON, TAKE BACK THE NIGHT, 2023’s NIGHT SHIFT and others, and contributed to the anthology PHOBIAS) builds some basic there’s-something-outside/inside-the-house tension into THE ASTRONAUT, and Mara does strong work in the title role. As Sam becomes bewildered and creeped out by what’s happening around her–and to her own body–the actress keeps us feeling for her. Sam’s desperation for answers is tempered by her knowledge that admitting something’s wrong will jeopardize her chances of selection for future missions–a simple and understandable motivation at first for not disclosing what’s happening to her.
Yet as the bizarre events escalate, and are witnessed by others, it becomes increasingly difficult to believe Sam’s reluctance to relocate. Nor does her undoubtedly significant scientific background come into play as the action heats up, and she’s reduced to simply running for her life through the bowels of the house. These and the movie’s other settings are shot with a great deal of atmosphere by DP Dave Garbett (EVIL DEAD RISE, ASH VS. EVIL DEAD), and it’s all backed by an effective, sometimes aggressive score by Jacques Brautbar. What’s missing for most of the running time is a sense that movie is about anything more than it appears on the surface, despite a few hints at themes of family. Both Izzy and Sam herself are revealed to be adoptees, the latter not surprising considering that her father, a general who oversaw her mission, is played by Laurence Fishburne.
THE ASTRONAUT does attempt to bestow deeper meaning upon the proceedings with a latecoming story twist, but unfortunately, it results in an abrupt tonal shift that throws the whole film out of whack. It really needed a whole additional act to fully explore this new idea; instead, it’s rushed through quickly, ending the movie at 81 minutes before the final credits and leaving a number of questions dangling. One leaves the movie wondering whether it got heavily pared down in the editing process, or it needed more preparation before the launch button was pushed.
