Film Details & Credits

• Title: The Astronaut
• Year: 2025 Wikipedia+2Movie Insider+2
• Genre: Science Fiction / Horror / Thriller Wikipedia+2Rotten Tomatoes+2
• Director & Writer: Jess Varley Wikipedia+2highlandfilmgroup.com+2
• Producers: Brad Fuller, Eric B. Fleischman, Chris Abernathy, Cameron Fuller Wikipedia+1
• Cinematography: David Garbett Wikipedia
• Editing: Joel Griffen, Terel Gibson Wikipedia
• Music / Score: Jacques Brautbar Wikipedia+1
• Studio / Production Companies: The Wonder Company, Grinder Monkey Wikipedia+2highlandfilmgroup.com+2
• Distributor (U.S.): Vertical FirstShowing.net+3Wikipedia+3highlandfilmgroup.com+3
• Runtime: 91 minutes Wikipedia+2Rotten Tomatoes+2
• Language: English Wikipedia+2Rotten Tomatoes+2
• Country: United States Wikipedia+1

🧭 Synopsis / Plot Summary

Setup / Inciting Incident
Sam Walker is a NASA astronaut returning from her first space mission. During reentry, her shuttle is struck by debris, and her capsule ends up in the Atlantic Ocean, heavily damaged. She is rescued but has no clear memory of how the accident happened. The Guardian+4Wikipedia+4FirstShowing.net+4 Immediately, she is placed under quarantine, decontamination, and intense oversight. She is visited by her husband Mark and their daughter Izzy. Later, General William Harris (who is also her adopted father) intervenes and orchestrates her confinement to a remote, high-security rural house under strict surveillance. FirstShowing.net+4Wikipedia+4highlandfilmgroup.com+4

Rising Weirdness & Uncertainty
As Sam recovers, strange and increasingly disturbing phenomena begin happening around her:

• She sees shadowy figures, “black creatures” stalking the property, hallucinations, and unexplained bruising on her body that worsens. FILMHOUNDS Magazine+7Wikipedia+7The Guardian+7
• She discovers the property is wired with hidden cameras and has an underground bunker. Wikipedia+2highlandfilmgroup.com+2
• Sam also develops telekinetic or psychic abilities in certain sequences, blurring the line between perception, alien intrusion, and inner transformation. Movie Insider+3Wikipedia+3highlandfilmgroup.com+3
• The boundary between what’s real and what’s psychological becomes murky. Sam begins to suspect that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth — or that she might herself be something other than she believed. Movie Insider+5Wikipedia+5Rotten Tomatoes+5

Twist & Climax
In the film’s climax, it is revealed that Sam’s memories have been fractured: she was once part of an alien family, but was separated and assumed a human identity. The “black creatures” are her true kin. The mission she undertook, and the high-security measures around her, were part of a plan to expose or capture alien life. As her human disguise begins to fail, she accepts that her time on Earth is ending. She boards a spaceship with her alien family, leaving behind her human connections. FILMHOUNDS Magazine+5Wikipedia+5highlandfilmgroup.com+5

Denouement
Mark and Izzy (her husband and daughter) witness her departure, emotionally torn. The film ends on an ambiguous but bittersweet note, as Sam’s true identity replaces her human one. FILMHOUNDS Magazine+3Wikipedia+3highlandfilmgroup.com+3

🎭 Cast & Key Roles

📆 Release & Distribution

• Festival Premiere: The Astronaut had its world premiere at SXSW 2025 (South by Southwest) on March 7, 2025. FirstShowing.net+2highlandfilmgroup.com+2
• Theatrical Release (U.S.): October 17, 2025 (limited release) Wikipedia+3Movie Insider+3highlandfilmgroup.com+3
• UK / VOD Release: In the UK, the film was released direct-to-VOD starting September 22, 2025. FirstShowing.net+1
• Distributor (U.S.): Vertical handles U.S. distribution. highlandfilmgroup.com+2FirstShowing.net+2
• Filming Location & Period: Principal photography took place in Ireland in late 2023. FirstShowing.net+2highlandfilmgroup.com+2
• Original Cast Change: Emma Roberts was initially attached to the project but was later replaced by Kate Mara. Movie Insider+2FirstShowing.net+2

✅ Critical & Audience Reception (Highlights)

• Rotten Tomatoes Synopsis: The page describes the film’s premise—Sam Walker returning and being monitored, yet fearing something alien has come back with her — capturing the tone of paranoia and mystery. Rotten Tomatoes
• Mixed Reviews:
    • The Guardian praises the film’s atmosphere, strong cast, and early suspense, but criticizes pacing in the middle and a rushed ending. The Guardian
    • Hollywood Reporter notes the strong performances, particularly Kate Mara’s, but observes unevenness in execution. Hollywood Reporter
    • Some criticism from genre outlets: slashfilm calls it a “dragged-out haunted-house movie” reliant on jump scares in the second act. SlashFilm
    • Filmhounds calls it “a promising outing ruined by a ludicrous conclusion.” FILMHOUNDS Magazine
• Strengths & Weaknesses (Critics’ Consensus):
    + Strengths: Strong lead actor performance, moody design and tension, intriguing premise. Mama's Geeky+4The Guardian+4Hollywood Reporter+4
    + Weaknesses: Overreliance on one location, pacing lulls, underdeveloped emotional stakes, a twist some find derivative. FILMHOUNDS Magazine+3The Guardian+3Hollywood Reporter+3