User Reviews

Prospect, directed by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, is a tale you could see on the fringes of a larger story. It tells about a young teenage girl, played by Sophie Thatcher, who lands on a distant planet with her dad (Jay Duplass), to hunt and harvest precious gemstones that might be their ticket to better life and prosperity. But, on the outer planets, you run into all sorts of danger.

Prospect is not a large story. Its about a single life, single girl, trying to survive a horrible situation. This story could be told in many ways. It could be a three page short story in a pulp magazine focusing on westerns. It could be a side plot on a TV series. It could be a whole novel, if you padded it and fleshed it out, but even then there's not that much to bite on.

And that's exactly why the film is so refreshing. Because it is such a rare piece, because it chooses to focus on a smaller story. And because it such a well-told narrative, it manages to make such a story feel grander than it is.

It helps that the film is brilliantly made. You can very easily see the limitations of the budget, but fortunately modern effects are so good that you can tell a science fiction story, set on a distant planet, and make it seem real even if you don't have the budget for huge sets and elaborate props.

The acting is also surprisingly good. Thatcher plays her character very mellow, very low-key, but it works. Pedro Pascal as Ezra, a mercenary harvester, is also brilliant. Just the right amount of quirk mixed with world-weariness.

Prospect is an easy recommendation if you're a fan of the science fiction genre. Beautiful visuals, interesting scenarios, great world-building and off-beat story moments. What's not to like?

A minimalist sci-fi film, you're just thrown into it without an introduction to this future's world, but it isn't complicated so you catch on. Follows a girl and her dad. Not a lot of special effects, but even with the low budget it still had some beautiful scenery. Space and planets don't seem so alien like so it has familiar feel to it, even the technology doesn't seem far off. It feels like what would've happened if we properly figured out space travel in the 80's especially when you look at the marred tech; Space X has fancier ships just for a quick run to orbit present-day. It's not story or plot heavy but has good narration to keep you interested, wouldn't say it's slow paced but it's in no rush; could've easily been 30min longer or shorter.

Reminds me of a more recent movie, Vesper. They both tell a story of no consequence, based in a vast universe but focusing on only a small part of it. The events that occur, good or bad, won't change anything in the grand scheme of things so stakes are high only for the characters the story focuses on. Usually a story that would be a side plot, filler episode in a sci-fi series, or one off movie in an already established franchise. In a way the premise also reminds me of Gold.

It's definitely not a movie for everyone, especially those who look for the grandiose when it comes to sci-fi. It won't blow your mind away, doesn't leave a huge impression but I still think it's a nice, very little indie sci-fi film.

Modern science fiction films are, mostly, not really science fiction at all. Most of it is really space-fantasy, with laser cannons, explosions, space craft zipping around, fantastic monsters/aliens, etc. None of that is found in "Prospect." This film is grounded in a gritty reality that is extremely believable, more so than in any science fiction film I can remember seeing. In the novel world, stories that stick to some semblance of known scientific fact are known as "hard" sci-fi. Now, to be fair, there isn't a lot of science on display in "Prospect" - it's mostly action, but I will take what I can get! In case you can't tell, I've very much in favour of there being more films like this out there.

I very grudgingly rate this a 7 instead of an 8 or higher mostly for technical / production reasons, that are perhaps in turn due to budget compromises. Special effects, music, and perhaps a bit of the acting was a little b-movie at times. But I quickly got over it and was sucked into the story.

Also Star Wars writers take note: the main female character "Cee" is someone that the audience really roots for by the end of the film. Why? Because instead of being all knowing and all powerful right from the start, her character develops. Some of the characterization was a little lean, and I felt another 10 minutes of screen time devoted to fleshing out the father would have really helped the film, but these are minor nitpicks. Give us more films like this, please!

Prospect is a slow burn of a film. It's the kind of film that asks for a viewer who is willing to appreciate the subtle but deft world-building and peculiarly literate dialog. This is not cheap-thrills scifi, but neither is it navel gazing pedantry. It's a clear story of an often tense struggle in a treacherous and foreign setting.

It is slow, but it is not a slog; on the contrary I found it to be very well-paced. We're never in one place very long, either literally or narratively.

All the acting is good to very good. The photography is excellent. The budget (~3mil) was used well and I found all the props, costumes and effects to be really quite convincing.

I'm glad I took a chance with this one. It paid off.

Damon and his teenage daughter, Cee, are heading to a forested moon where they hope to strike it rich prospecting for precious gems. It won't be easy though; the air must be filtered due to toxic spores and anybody they encounter is unlikely to be friendly. Things go wrong from the start; their lander is damaged as they enter the atmosphere and they miss their intended landing site by some way. An early encounter leaves Cee on her own; if she is to survive and get off the moon again she will have to make an unlikely alliance.

I rather enjoyed this film; it might not be a classic and was clearly made for a relatively small amount but the story is solid in a fairly simply way. It may be set on a distant moon but the plot could come straight from a western. It is somewhat episodic with our protagonist facing a series of dangers that she must overcome but that isn't a problem. The tension is kept fairly high as there is always some danger to be overcome. The small cast does a solid job; most obviously Sophie Thatcher who really impressed as Cee; a character who toughens up nicely as she overcomes various dangers. Also notable are Pedro Pascal as Ezra and Jay Duplass as Damon. There aren't too many special effects but those that there are are pretty good in an unshowy way. The setting looks good; the forest being lush but also somewhat claustrophobic; one can't help feeling it would be easy to get lost there. Overall an enjoyable little sci-fi that is well worth watching.

Thoroughly enjoyable: a lean, tense, slow burn sci-fi film that builds to an exciting crescendo.

It's a story about a father and daughter who go to an alien planet to do some prospecting. That's all you need to know, and should know, as there are some plot twists that should be left unspoiled. Trust me.

The movie's well directed and written, besides some clunky dialogue in spots, and the world is artfully rendered. It's made on a budget, so there aren't any extravagant sets or creatures, but it does feature lived in, authentic looking technology and an atmospheric alien environment (reminiscent of Annihilation, but a tad more Alien).

The performances were all very good, Sophie Thatcher and Pedro Pascal, being the standouts.

If I had to describe it, I'd say Prospect is an old-fashioned western set in space, with a touch of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' (another movie about prospectors). And though it's no Star-Wars, or Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Prospect IS a very good movie. Well worth a watch.

This movie goes to show what is possible on a shoe string budget when you have a good story and great directing/editing etc. Very well put together.

Despite an excellent atmospheric start, the story could have been told in any number of settings and at in any point in time. It hardly calls for a sci-fi setting.

The actors were good, the effects were good but the overall story is pedestrian. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen and it never did. I would have skipped watching this movie if it were under any other genre.

As you can see by the reviews posted so far, this little gem polarises the audience.

One share of the Reviews is 7-10, the other 1-3. Almost nothing in between.

Probably this his to to with the expections.

Well, if you're looking for some fast-paced space battle pew pew laser action this isn't the movie you want to watch. This isn't a movie about aliens or about high-tech spacecraft. It's a movie about a few people in a difficult situation.

Made using simple means but with love to the detail. Retro in the best sense. Slow but thrilling. Good acting.

To give away too much of the plot would be a shame. So just watch and enjoy. (Or don't watch if you only like movies with tons of explosions and lengthy chases.)

No, it's Prospect, an indie sci-fi film that had its wide release in 2019. Well, it looks like a sci-fi, it has spacesuits and spaceships and an alien planet with a ton of sci-fi nonsense in the dialogue, but don't be fooled. This movie is a western, another Mandalorian similarity. It has prospectors, settlers, outlaws, rivals and untamed wilderness! Using a 50s and 60s retro sci-fi aesthetic to tell a western story was really interesting and fun to watch. This movie is on the slower side, it has a lot of long shots of just pretty scenery, but the action is definitely worth sitting through the movie for. It's bloody and brutal! The effects are really damn good for having such a low budget. It uses a lot of practical effects with minimal CGI. You get the sense that they really are on an alien world when it's really just a forest. The performances were great and the character dynamics were interesting. The story is simple, but it works. Overall, this is a good movie. Check it out if you like westerns or retro sci-fi!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It tells a fairly simple but very engaging proper sci-fi story in a way that makes it refreshingly easy to suspend disbelief: no really stupid bad science or cheesy overblown SFX, and very little clunky exposition (apart perhaps from a little by the dad early on).

Others have alluded to a "space western" vibe, and perhaps this is somewhat valid in a good way- it would arguably fit quite comfortably in the Firefly/Serenity universe. It's not full of highly conceptual artifice but the attention to detail is very impressive, bringing to life a believably gritty reality that reminded me of Ridley Scott's thinking about the future not being shiny-new, but old and worn.

The main characters are nicely understated but relatable, the pace is great, and unlike a lot of sci-fi movies that treat the viewer as an utter moron, this one doesn't over-explain or create spurious tensions and conflict for cheap 'drama'.

As a kid I hoovered up EE Doc Smith and old mags like Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, Amazing SF et al, still love the stories and novels of Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Simak, Poul Anderson, LeGuinn, Ellison etc and would still rather watch Bladerunner again than yet another trashy superhero 'blockbuster'. Bearing all that in mind, I highly recommend this movie.

Low budget movie but very nicley done. Kept me engaged throughout. These kinds of films actually feel more 'sci fi' to me than many high budget sci fi movies.

"Prospect" is a small sci-fi production, with a decent script, but unfortunately lacks in execution. I like slow burner movies, but something need to happen. For the most part we see characters wandering around this alien planet and in one hour and half, there two, maybe three interesting encounters. For the rest, it is pretty much boring and most scenes lead absolutely nowhere.

The cast is composed by few actors. Pedro Pascal does not disappoint and delivers once again a convincing performance. He completely stole the scene. Maybe I am little bit of a fan, but he is undeniable good, and honestly he did not have much to work with. Very disappointed by Sophie Thatcher, which was completely unexpressive. Her character could have been interesting, but the portrayal is awful. She could not carry any kind of emotion. This was for sure one of the biggest letdown of the entire production. When a movie has a really small cast, you need to make sure that all actors are good, because there is no way to hide an unskilled performer.

I have enjoyed the representation of the moon, populated by toxic dust. Visually speaking this movie really sets miles away from the average science fiction film (in a positive way). The setting in general is nothing crazy, but yet very original and beautifully conceived. Whoever worked on sets design need to be really praised.

"Prospect" is not a complete disaster, but there are entire sections where nothing happens. The intro is nice, but then the movie become quickly pointless, The ending is very predictable and cliché. However the soundtrack and especially the main theme is really good.

Simple, believable, and without unnecessary fluff, the story draws you into this young girls challenges while coming of age. As if reading an early science fiction short, you are provided just enough information to move the story along, and are left to your imagination to characterize the individuals and draw your own moral implications from their actions. In this age of high budget, force fed conclusions and extravagant special effects....some trust has been placed in the audience. I like that.

If youre easily taken by tiniest hint of si fi movies, this one you should try out.it is taking place in space,on a mineral rich planet,that are uninhabitabel for humans to live,so survival systems has to be used. you get a feel of jarjar binks atmosphere, or like the good old cold war feel when viewing this film.

the acting are fine,so are are also some of the visual effect that gives you a liable and vivid feel of being lost on a strange planet. the music are really contagious, when it occurs in the end you feel like youve heard it a million times before. thats the hummin secret of good film music,its an silent assailant that invades your brain without noticing it yourself. very good.

its a relative low cost product,but it gives suspence forwhat you pay of your lifetime. so i recommend this too

This isn't space battles, explosions, and flashy visual effects. Instead, it's a well-acted story about people, that happens to be set in an interplanetary context. Great aesthetic and prop design, an interesting mix of futuristic and retro.

A very dry story. We get immersed in a world we don't Know and which never get explained much. This can Be fascinating but also confusing. I have appreciated the way the movie is done, although it looks more like the fifth episode of the second season of a serie, rather than a movie.

The acting is decent and I like the cinematography but find the pacing slow and the story a little hard to follow. I think we needed more details about who they are, what they're doing in this place. Etc. I found myself getting bored by the halfway point.

What floored me the most about this film was the attention to detail. This is how you make small budget scifi. Its a shame that so many indie scifi films are brought low by a focus on story and forgetting immersion. This movie is downright filthy. Every piece of technology looks used and beat up, lived in and thats so important. Whomever was in charge of set design, bravo. Its original star wars, blade runner, MOON, MONSTERS quality set design and costumes. These are poor miners and mercenaries. Every piece of gear should look rusty, hand cobbled and it does. This movie looks soooooo good. Even the main planet scenery, which could easily be a familiar tropic bog has this beautiful filter and light effect over it that makes it stand out as other worldly. They took the time to create familiar yet other worldy music like something out of cowboy bebop. Jazzy, hispanic, asian sounds whether real or not feel foreign. They created a separate written language just for consoles and sketchpads, never even calling it out(they did that in Star Wars, look it up.) The dedication to worldbuilding in this movie is just jaw dropping. I love the cobbled together rifle that uses hand charging batteries. The aesthetic reminds me a bit of these old scifi shows/films from the 80-90 cyber revolution Desert Punk and Zeiram.

and I guess, the movie is also pretty great. The characters are all very believable though Pedro Pascal really carries this movie with his dialog being a unique combination of Mark Twain purpose and Shakespearean adjective style. What I really liked is that for all that work mentioned above its never dwelled upon. Some low budget scifi films, when they know they did something neat, will sit there and make you stare at it while nothing happens for 5 minutes. I promise you this movie has none of that. It moves at a really nice clip to a beautiful bittersweet ending.

I honestly kinda want to give this movie a 10, but I think that would just be too personal. Some people don't take set design and cinematography as serious as I do. I would recommend this mainly to the MOON, Blade Runner(original) audience. If you enjoy small scope noir scifi this is for you. If you need backflips and explosions big pass. Dangit, nvm Im giving it a 10.

TORONTO AFTER DARK 2018

Grim and grimy, Prospect is one of those films that really wants to be a sci-fi western and for the most part, it succeeds, thanks to some great direction by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, solid performances and wonderfully bleak atmosphere that surrounds this entire film.

We meet teenager Cee (Sophie Thatcher) and her dad Damon (Jay Duplass), piloting their space freighter on a mission to find some very valuable alien gems that will, in turn, make them very wealthy. Of course, they're best-laid plans go out the window and soon they find themselves in the company of a rival named Ezra (Pedro Pascal) and all bets are off. A complicated relationship begins between Cee and Ezra, he becoming a weird anti-father figure to her, and this is where the movie begins to really get interesting.

Earl and Caldwell, co-directors and co-writers of the film, do a great job setting the stage with some wonderful tension, haunting landscape, and great visuals. Earl, who is also the cinematographer, paints a great picture using a great combination of CGI and practical effects. The planet that Cee, Damon, Ezra, and scattered others are on looks great and deadly at the same time. Death is always hanging there, whether in the form of humans or things all around them native to the planet itself.

Sophie Thatcher as Cee is a joy, slowly ramping up her performance as the movie moves along and has a very weird, complicated and necessary relationship with Pascal's Ezra. For the most part this collaboration works, driving the movie forward although at times there are moments where their scenes are too telegraphed, the characters and their 'relationship' too familiar. However, that doesn't take away from the performances, especially Thatcher who is very strong in her role as Cee.

While it is this relationship that drives the film, Earl and Caldwell are smart enough to know they will need more than just this, and interweave dark and beautiful landscapes during this western sci-fi trek. The interiors at the beginning, those inside the spacecraft, also come across as very real and somewhat claustrophobic. It is a nice contrast to the vastness and open country of the planet the bulk of the film is on, although being in those suits still gives the audience that claustrophobic feeling, which is a very nice touch.

Although there are moments in the film where some of the dialogue suffers and the scenes or scenery scream 'been there, done that', the movie reaches for the stars, no pun intended, and is successful in creating a great story and atmosphere for the audience to enjoy. Science fiction comes in many shapes and sizes but when it is dirty, haunting and human-like Prospect, it is a much more interesting story to watch unfold.

This movie is a simple treasure hunt survival saga. It does not bring much original in fact, no great subjects except of greed, no new angles, a bit of an atmosphere but that is all. Really, a small movie, not stupid but nothing much either. Well worth a skip.