Prospect
Written & Directed by Chris Caldwell and Zeek Earl
Starring Pedro Pascal, Sophie Thatcher, Jay Duplass, Andre Royo, Sheila Vand, Anwan Glove
100 minutes
Distributor: Gunpowder & Sky’s DUST
Release date: November 2, 2018

Prospect debuted at SXSW in March and has a theatrical run coming up this Fall. Written and directed by Chris Caldwell and Zeek Earl, the film is a feature-length version of their 2014 short, and it also serves as the first feature-length film distributed by Gunpowder & Sky’s sci-fi label DUST.

Taking place in the future where fortunes can be made and lives can be lost in a sort of intergalactic version of wild west prospecting, a father (Duplass) and daughter Thatcher head to a toxic alien moon in an effort for one big score. The film stars Sophie Thatcher as Cee, Jay Duplass as her father Damon, and Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal as Ezra. Prospect is an excellent film, that has the nerve to challenge its audience.

Prospect is another in the new breed of intellectual science fiction films, following in the footsteps of Ex Machina, Annihilation, and A Quiet Place. Caldwell and Earl crafted a script that turns a space movie on an alien moon into something more resembling a play.

The first 20 minutes is exclusively between father and daughter Soon, Thatcher is alone with Pascal’s Ezra, a sort of futuristic space pirate. Pascal is fantastic, and Duplass is very good, but this film belongs to young actress Sophie Thatcher. This was her first feature film, and the teenage star is one to watch. She manages to hold her own in long bouts of silence and one-on-one scenes with older, more polished stars.

Campbell and Earl do a fantastic job of taking previously established sci-fi tropes and working against them. The concept of being alone on an alien planet isn’t new, but where they took the story is. They created an incredibly imaginative world, giving thought to so many minute details.

These two filmmakers and their young lead actress are ones to watch. If you are a fan of Alex Garland films and indie style sci-fi, Prospect is a film you must add to your Fall film-watching list.

Prospect will be released in Regal Cinemas on November 2, 2018 and then on SingularDTV’s Video On Demand in 2019. Regal’s site will also exclusively make available for download an accompanying Playbill called Aurelac Prospecting: Guide To Getting Rich On The Green Moon that delves into the film’s world-building, as well as an exclusive Prospect art print by Christopher Shy for purchase.

Trailer

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