Story: The lone survivor of an enigmatic spaceship incident hasn't returned back home alone-hiding inside his body is a dangerous creature.
One of the best sci/fi horror movies I've seen come out of Russia and one decent alien feature. Sputnik has a concrete script, it's stylish, focused, has a solid likable cast, nice atmosphere and a moody soundtrack.
I wasn't expecting Sputnik to actually be enjoyable as my experiences with movies from this country hasn't been a pleasant one. They usually have nice concepts poorly executed (The Bride & The Mermaid: Lake Of The Dead). But this is an exception.
I appreciated the direction they took the story and how it unfolds. Yes, we've seen this "alien takes over human like a parasite" in films like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers or Slither but the way its done here feels fresh. The creature effects & design look solid. The creature is mostly kept in shadows which adds a flair of eeriness. There's a couple of tense moments as well as some surprisingly gory ones too. The creature sure causes a lot of mayhem specially during the final act.
Oksana Akinshina (Quiet Comes The Dawn) is likable as our lead. She's strong, she's curious and takes no for an answer. A heroine to root for. Fedor Bondarchuk (The Myths) gives a menacing performance. You don't know what his intentions truly are. Pyotr Fyodorov (The Darkest Hour) plays the astronaut who returns from with a hidden entity in his system. As for the horror set pieces, they take a while to get to, but the movie is never boring and keeps you glued even if some of the revelations are predictable.
Sputnik is another fine addition to horror in a year where the genre has succeeded.
Here's the trailer:
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