The Astronaut (2025)


 

The Astronaut (2025) – A Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Mystery That Off-Ramps into Wild Alien Lore

The Astronaut kicks off with a killer hook. We get our first glance of rescue boats cutting through the water toward a fallen space capsule. Once the team reaches it, they pop the hatch to find our protagonist inside—helmet completely shattered, capsule taking on water, and immediate red flags flying. From the very first frame, the film throws you into a disorientation chamber: Is she seeing things, or is gravity actually fucked up?

She drops a line about missing regular food, but explicitly not Earth. So, yeah—clearly, she’s the astronaut. Meanwhile, her husband completely dodges her question about whether he misses "Mommy," all while an entire military convoy escorts her to a facility in the middle of nowhere.

The "Safe House" Logic & Endless Dream Sequences

The plot choices quickly start raising eyebrows. Leaving someone who is actively exhibiting severe space-trauma symptoms alone in a random, isolated house? Genius plan. Naturally, chaos ensues, leading to a series of "What the fuck was that?" moments.

The movie leans heavily into one of the most frustrating modern sci-Fi tropes: the ambiguous dream sequence.

  • Is it real, or is it a hallucination? You can't tell if the main character is dreaming, if it’s actually happening, or if she is questioning her own reality.

  • Gravity Anomalies: She seems to be doubting whether the gravity glitches are hallucinations or physical events.

  • Trust Issues: Are we being tricked by her mind, being watched by a shadow agency, or both? At one point, you literally have to check every rock on screen to parse what’s real—especially when she essentially teleports back into bed.

It turns out the quarantine house belongs to her father—except it’s actually a "safe house." A safe house from what, exactly? Naturally, right after showing off the bunker’s high-tech lockdown capabilities, a breach happens—and of course, the security measures immediately fail, dumping us right back into the “Are we hallucinating again?” loop.

Mutations, Bugs, and a Shift in Reality

Just when you think you have a handle on the psychological horror, the movie pivots hard:

  1. The Husband Factor: Her husband finally stops doubting her and realizes she isn’t crazy.

  2. Bug Attacks & Body Horror: Random bug attacks start happening, forcing you to rewind just to figure out what you missed. It looks like a scratch at first, but no—her body is actively mutating.

  3. Blackout: Right on cue, an entity randomly knocks out every security camera in the facility.

Credit where it’s due: the creature design is fantastic. Moving away from the stereotypical "Humanoid Alien" trope gives the film a genuinely unsettling visual edge.

The Twist Ending (Spoilers)

Did anyone actually expect Izzy to stay in the car? Absolutely not.

The alien approaches her, lifts her chin, and functionally communicates: "I'm your family." But the movie doesn't just leave it at subtext—it comes right out and says it. Earlier in the film, her dad mentioned she was adopted. He just conveniently forgot to mention she was adopted from an alien race.

The Verdict

The Astronaut starts as a paranoid, gravity-bending psychological thriller that gaslights both its protagonist and its audience, before completely pulling the rug out to reveal a full-blown alien heritage story. It’s chaotic, occasionally frustrating with its dream-logic padding, but ultimately delivers a wild third-act turn that almost nobody saw coming. I also have to add that Kate Mara did an amazing job with this movie. I think the only real role that comes to mind, that I've seen her in is in House of Cards, and in that you really had no choice but to hate her. In this movie, that isn't the case, even though at times it feels like the writer wants you to hate her, you end up wanting to understand her. 

Rating: 3.5 / 5 Floating Rocks

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