‘Descendent’ [SXSW] Review : Pop Culture Leftovers

‘Descendent’ [SXSW] Review

March 27, 2025 11:25 am |

Peter Cilella’s Descendent is a remarkable piece of filmmaking that intertwines extraterrestrials and the anxiety of fatherhood into one haunting experience.

Ross Marquand leads the film as Sean Bruner, a soon to be father struggling with the toll of his future. Sean is a hard worker with a desire to succeed quickly in time for the arrival of their child, only on one fateful night he encounters an alien.

Sean’s other half, Andrea (Sarah Bolger) is pregnant with the couple’s first child and seems to be holding herself together fairly well considering. As time goes on and Sean’s underlying stress becomes something much more severe involving visions, seizures and blackouts – it’s unfortunately up to him on his own to figure out if his extraterrestrial encounter truly occurred.

Marquand offers the performance of his career in a steep descent into psychosis, but it’s when he and Bolger share the screen that the emotional depths contribute to a nail biting tension. The pair are absolutely terrific across from one another as their relationship progresses with the baby getting nearer, things solemnly spiral in a heart wrenching fashion. There’s a pivotal moment between the two where you will be left aching as you can tell the pair have begun to distance themselves – Bolger’s performance in this precise moment is nothing short of chilling.

Atop of the science fiction aspect of the story, Cilella has crafted a beautiful drama encapsulated by the anxiety of having a child and the path to the future ahead. It’s a horrifying experience as it navigates through the depths of psychological terror – upholding not only the fear of alien abduction, but escalating the fear of fatherhood and the unknown prompts that come with it.

As someone who has never been overtly afraid of life that is out amongst the stars, the interior turmoil of fatherhood gets to me. What is the likelihood of being a good dad? What if I can’t provide properly? What if everything goes awry? Many films in recent years have tackled the trials of motherhood, but none have truly taken on fatherhood such like this. In the end, Descendent will leave you asking questions and wondering to yourself, did that really just happen? Needless to say, the fears and sophistication behind the message of the film will be difficult to fully part with, especially for those less familiar with the toll of fatherhood.

Published Simultaneously on Cinefied.com