Prospect
Directed by Zeek Earl, Christopher Caldwell6.389%74%6.2
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote alien moon, aiming to strike it rich. They've secured a contract to harvest a large deposit of the elusive gems hidden in the depths of the moon's toxic forest. But there are others roving the wilderness and the job quickly devolves into a fight to survive.
Prospect Ratings & Reviews
- ShaydeknightOctober 20, 2025Prospect is a rare little gem of a film, a low-budget sci-fi feature that manages to feel more like a frontier drama than a space adventure. It's dusty, claustrophobic, and quietly haunting. Rather than sprawling intergalactic empires or sleek spaceships, we get rusted helmets, patched-up machinery, and the suffocating air of a lawless gold rush. It's a western, just one that's set on a toxic moon. The story follows a father and daughter who touch down on an alien world to harvest precious gems. Things, naturally, don't go as planned. But Prospect isn't really about treasure or technology, it's about staying alive, trust, and the uneasy alliances that form when survival is the only goal. Pedro Pascal delivers an outstanding performance as Ezra, a man whose erudition and eloquence make him both captivating and untrustworthy. He belongs to that distinguished cinematic bloodline of well-mannered frontier rogues, like Doc Holliday or Mal Reynolds. He's pragmatic, charming, and governed by an internal moral code that seems to exist only when it suits him. He's not heroic, but he isn't soulless either. There are things even he won't do, and you sense genuine regret beneath his rough surface. Sophie Thatcher, in her first major role, more than holds her own beside Pascal. Her transformation through the film is subtle and believable. She begins the story as a dependent and ends it as a survivor. It's an impressive performance, particularly given her age and inexperience. Jay Duplass, as her father Damon, does well as an unlikeable man who is still recognizably human: flawed, desperate, perhaps a little lost in his own issues. The film's greatest strength lies in its atmosphere. Directors Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell (in their feature debut) build a convincing world with limited means, all grit, grime, and makeshift ingenuity. The language is slightly evolved, the alphabet indecipherable, the technology half-broken and half-understood. It's a "lived-in" universe, not one polished to sterility. That said, a touch more exposition would have helped. While I appreciate the choice to keep the lore enigmatic, a bit more context could have grounded the story without spoiling the mystery. The dialogue is serviceable but not particularly memorable, occasionally bland, and often too literal for such a textured world. I couldn't help thinking the film might have benefited from a bit more linguistic flair, something closer to the rich hyper-futuristic dialects of Cloud Atlas or A Clockwork Orange. Still, the characters and performances make up for the simplicity of the script. Ultimately, Prospect works because it trusts its mood more than its mechanics. It's not about explaining every detail of the universe, it's about showing how people behave when everything familiar is stripped away. It's a survival story first, a sci-fi tale second, and a moral fable somewhere in between. In short, Prospect feels like a promise, the kind of debut that reminds you how much can be done with imagination, restraint, and a good eye for atmosphere. A little rough around the edges, yes, but that's the point. The frontier, whether on Earth or a faraway moon, is never wholly clean.
Prospect Trivia
Prospect was released on November 2, 2018.
Prospect was directed by Zeek Earl, Christopher Caldwell.
Prospect has a runtime of 1h 39m.
Prospect was produced by Matthias Mellinghaus, Scott Glassgold, Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano, Dan Balgoyen, Garrick Dion.
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote alien moon, aiming to strike it rich. They've secured a contract to harvest a large deposit of the elusive gems hidden in the depths of the moon's toxic forest. But there are others roving the wilderness and the job quickly devolves into a fight to survive.
The key characters in Prospect are Cee (Sophie Thatcher), Ezra (Pedro Pascal), Damon (Jay Duplass).
Prospect is rated R.
Prospect is a Science Fiction, Drama, Thriller film.
Prospect has an audience rating of 7.4 out of 10.
Prospect had a budget of $4M.
Prospect has made $22,777 at the box office.