Descendent

While the film effectively conjures and then nurtures the mystery surrounding our protagonist, Sean's, fragile mental state through solid technicalities and competent performances, it seems the creators overlooked the importance of incorporating strong emotional depth into the script.

This emotional availability would have been beneficial to 'develop' and 'utilise' the underlying sentiments pertaining human psyche, resting deep beneath the surface.

Receiving a lot of scathing reviews, I can't see why.

The plot revolves around the unknown and not knowing ones mind or memories.

Descendant delves into the human psyche revolving around the deep and the dark known and unknown and whether what we see is what we believe.

The master craft is on display, driving a wedge into the audiences subconscious.

Is what Sean is going through real or not, is it self inflicted or not.

The ambiguity you're left with will have you considering your own psyche and whether or not it's real.

Fabulous movie.

I liked this movie, but I understand where some haters are coming from- there are some large and small things that aren't very compelling.

The story follows this regular schmegular soon-to-be dad into his descent into madness... because of an alien abduction. My kind of movie.

Obviously his relationship suffers, he begins having strange experiences, his mental health deteriorates, and his sole focus is to keep his head above water and figure out what's going on. Does any of this happen? Is any of this real? Kind of!

I like the psychological aspect of it. He has these strange experiences and feelings and must navigate them. After the experience he acquired some cool abilities that allowed the viewer to understand him deeply. It was really these moments that enriched the story.

It was the lack of communication with his wife (and most people) and an incomplete backstory with the characters that made this story feel cheap. Even the end was abrupt and I didn't feel like his friend all said and done. I would've liked that.

Whilst the film had potential, the bare bones fact is, nothing happens here. It's very well made, from the acting to the cinematography, it's top notch. However, it's slow paced, and just goes nowhere.

I assume it was all too subtle for a simpleton like me. I was waiting for the movie to get into a third act, and it never happened. Dull.

One star for the soundtrack, which was excellent.

Stumbling upon the 2025 movie "Descendent" by random chance, and it being a movie that I had never actually heard about, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

Writer Peter Cilella, whom also directed the movie, put together a script that was more of a psychological drama of a man's descent into madness, than it was a movie about alien abductions. So I was a bit disappointed, to say the least. The pacing of the narrative was sluggish, and that combined with the general lack of alien contents was the reason why my interest in the movie was struggling to remain.

Ross Marquand was actually the only familiar face on the cast list for me. The acting performances in the movie were certainly good, and Ross Marquand does an excellent job of portraying Sean's descend into madness and delusion.

The movie is not one that makes use of a whole lot of special effects. But then again, it didn't really need special effects to deliver the narrative.

Now, if you sit down to watch "Descendent" hoping it is a movie that wholesomely delves into the concept of alien abductions, then chances are that you will be sorely disappointed with the movie, much like I was. But if you sit down to watch it as a psychological drama about a man's slow and steady descent into madness, then you're in for quite a treat.

My rating of writer and director Peter Cilella's 2025 movie "Descendent" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.