David Farnor | On 18, May 2020

Director: Eric Demeusy
Cast: Ryan Masson, Highdee Kuan, Christian Prentice, Shaw Jones
Certificate: 15
Watch Proximity online in the UK: Sky Cinema / NOW / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Sky Store

Eric Demeusy isn’t a name you know, but his work is something you’ve definitely seen. From Game of Thrones and Stranger Things to TRON: Legacy, he’s been involved in the VFX for some of the most impressive sci-fi and genre releases of the past decade. It’s no surprise, then, that his directorial debut, Proximity, looks the bees knees – it’s an alien abduction thriller that doesn’t skimp on the aliens or the abduction.

Unfortunately, where it does skimp is in most other departments. The film follows Isaac (Ryan Masson), a scientist who works for NASA and gets abducted by aliens. Uploading a video to prove it really happened, he goes viral – and even bags a daytime TV interview – but nobody believes him. His apparent psychic powers, which mostly seem like hallucinations on his part, don’t do much to convince. In this first act, as Isaac crosses paths with fellow abductee Sara (Highdee Kuan) and a rag-tag bunch of outsiders, there’s an intriguing edge to the low-budget eeriness. But that potential slowly fades as the film drags through its two-hour runtime.

The script hops from Pasadena to Costa Rica for reasons, and it’s only a matter of time until some shady types in government suits turn up – accompanied by some androids that look like extras from the original TRON, not to mention some sequences involving being tied a chair and interrogated. Original? No. Logical? Not really. Entertaining? Sadly not.

What Proximity is, though, is easy on the eyes, with one sequence involving an abductee’s arm being opened up proving quietly jaw-dropping, and the aliens themselves proving surprisingly convincing. From the spaceships to Isaac’s apparent powers, Demeusy has a wonderful command of visual storytelling and blends cracking CGI with practical, tangible effects. But the verbal storytelling, acted out by an uneven cast, fails to match that bar, offering divine diversions that leave you gasping in not a good way. That’s a well-meaning heart, and an old-fashioned earnestness behind this Spielberg-inflected debut, but this UFO drama never quite takes off.

Proximity is available on Sky Cinema. Don’t have Sky? You can also stream it on NOW, as part of an £11.99 NOW Cinema Membership subscription. For the latest Sky TV packages and prices, click the button below.

 

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