SXSW 2025 Review: THE ASTRONAUT, Kate Mara Returns From Space, But Perhaps Not Alone

An astronaut returns from her maiden voyage into space only to discover that something seems to have followed her back, and its intentions are unclear in writer/director Jess Varley’s The Astronaut.

Captain Sam Walker (Kate Mara) has dreamed of being an astronaut for her entire life. When her first mission to space concludes, she lands in the ocean and is gathered up and brought to shore, only to discover that something isn’t quite right. A black rash on her hand has her a bit curious, and some other physical abnormalities make her military handlers a little concerned, so they quarantine her at a lovely house in the woods for a couple of weeks until she can get the all clear to return to her young daughter and her husband Mark (Gabriel Luna).

Unhappy about the situation, but determined to get back to her family as soon as possible, Sam plays the good little soldier and tries to just stick it out. When the rashes start to spread and she starts feeling a strange pull toward the surrounding woods, she keeps it to herself, unwilling to give her doctors any reason to delay her discharge any longer than necessary. However, her situation becomes more and more perilous as time wears on, and threats that she thought were just in her head start to become very real, leading to a shocking conclusion that changes everything she ever knew.

Varley’s first feature film as a director after a number of shorts and a career in front of the camera is an impressive one. Beautifully shot by Dave Garbett (Sweet Tooth, Evil Dead Rise), the film makes the most of its primary forest location with stunning green vistas on the outside and an impeccably designed high-tech modern home on the inside. Garbett’s visuals are complemented beautifully by Jacques Brautbar’s score and an immersive sound design that really thumps when the action kicks in.

A strong central performance from Mara is crucial to selling the conceit, and she does amazing work throughout. While she’s on screen for a solid 80% of the film by herself, her supporting cast – including a commanding performance from Laurence Fishburne as her protective military father – never hang her out to dry either, delivering powerful moments as she attempts to reconnect with a world that seems increasingly hostile.

Though not a lot of new ground is covered in The Astronaut – a list of similar conspiratorial sci-fi films might give away too much, but suffice it to say it feels familiar – what is on screen here is handsomely mounted and technically accomplished. Varley attempts to spend a lot of time helping us understand the ins-and-outs of the quarantine compound and its myriad security features, which is certainly helpful in understanding the geography of the film, but after a while it does start to feel like filler for a film that could use a bit more plot.

I’m never one to complain about an eighty-minute movie – more of this, please! – but The Astronaut spends far too much of that brief runtime in the buildup, leaving the twist conclusion – which I really enjoyed – feeling almost like an afterthought. Varley’s script could stand to have a bit more faith in its audience, instead of spoon-feeding the finale the way it does. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it is also not a home run in the way it could be with a more finessed ending.

However, Kate Mara shines in what is largely a solo on screen performance, and Varley’s attention to visual and aural detail is striking, and a surefire way to make this critic pay attention to whatever she does next. Though The Astronaut may have trouble completely sticking the (space) landing, it still manages to deliver a thrilling eighty minutes that is well worth the ride.