Overlooked Sci-Fi Horror Alien Movie on Streaming Will Leave You Trembling
Besides being immensely entertaining, 2018’s Venom showed us that humanity won’t shy away from weaponizing alien technology or biology. The Predator (2018) also toyed with that particular idea, at least for a brief moment. Admittedly, most of examples of such films are action movies, but occasionally, we get a spine-chilling horror experience, such as 2020’s Sputnik, which is currently available on Hulu.
The Russian-made sci-fi horror film Sputnik is streaming on Hulu
Sputnik, set in 1983, is a masterful blend of extraterrestrial horror mixed with Cold War-era tension, whose narrative revolves around the arrival of a horrific alien creature on Earth and the attempts of Russian authorities to weaponize the creature. The story opens with a gripping sequence in which Sputnik, the famous Soviet spacecraft, crashes in Kazakhstan on its return from space.
Upon retrieval, one of the two cosmonauts on board, Konstantin Veshnjakov, is found alive but profoundly affected by the crash.
Having miraculously survived the crash, Konstantin is immediately quarantined, with the authorities assigning a military unit led by Colonel Semiradov to investigate the incident surrounding the crash of the Sputnik and Konstantin’s miraculous survival.
Colonel Semiradov brings in Tatiana Yurievna Klimova, a talented neuropsychologist, to assess Konstantin’s condition. She soon discovers that Konstantin brought back an extraterrestrial lifeform inside his body, which apparently feeds off the nutrients within the cosmonaut, without Knostantin knowing it.
However, things aren’t always what they seem, and Tatiana finds more than she bargained for when she discovers that the alien comes out at night and feeds on other prisoners within the military research facility and that she’s there to find a way to separate the alien from Konstantin and weaponize the organism, instead of helping the surviving cosmonaut. What unfolds is a suspenseful narrative of Sputnik as Tatiana and Konstantin try to escape the facility and deal with the alien inside Konstantin, which might also be their best chance of surviving the escape.
The massive interest in the movie was reflected by its box-office performance, which, while not on par with major Hollywood releases, was particularly noteworthy for a foreign-language film.
We won’t dive into the narrative any further to avoid spoiling Sputnik for those who haven’t watched it. We’ll point out that, while terrifying, Sputnik isn’t yet another rip-off of the Alien franchise, though it really tries to recreate the same feeling of dread and fight for survival.
The movie blends science fiction and horror really well, and the tension escalates when the alien’s motive becomes clear (SPOILER ALERT: eating live humans) while also depicting the alien entity as a malevolent force but also a symbiotic presence that’s necessary for the protagonists’ survival.
The performance of the cast, especially the protagonists Tatiana Klimova and Konstantin Veshnyakov, portrayed by Oksana Akinshina and Pyotr Fyodorov, was praised for their depth and believability.
The evolving dynamic between the main cast serves as the emotional foundation of the movie, which further contrasts both the psychological and extraterrestrial horrors it so wonderfully depicts. So, we can say that it’s more akin to a Soviet-driven take on a mixture between 1999’s The Astronaut’s Wife and 1995’s Species.
Despite being a Russian-language movie, Sputnik garnered massive interest and curiosity beyond that country’s borders, particularly among those who like sci-fi horror films.
The massive interest in the movie was reflected by its box-office performance, which, while not on par with major Hollywood releases, was particularly noteworthy for a foreign-language film. Considering the rise of other foreign high-budget releases, such as Space Sweepers, Jung_E, and Warriors of the World, it would seem that Hollywood finally has some competition.
The performance of the cast, especially the protagonists Tatiana Klimova and Konstantin Veshnyakov, portrayed by Oksana Akinshina and Pyotr Fyodorov, was praised for their depth and believability.
Besides earning some $1.2 million from its limited international release—the earnings suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic—Sputnik proved to be a massive success, showcasing the global appeal for its tremble-inducing narrative while also overcoming the hurdles of reaching broader audiences.
The movie received generally favorable reviews from the critics and the audiences, with 88% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and a 73% audience score, which only attest to its ability to add a dose of freshness to the alien invasion narrative.
Fans of thought-provoking, spine-tingling cinematography will most certainly appreciate Sputnik, which is currently available on streaming. Just remember: if it’s running up your spine, that’s excitement, but if it’s running down your leg, well, that’s fear.
