'Sputnik': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about Russian sci-fi horror film
If you love Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 science-fiction horror film, ‘Alien’, then a new feature is headed your way that will at once open a can of nostalgia, and send shivers down your spine. The upcoming Russian sci-fi horror/thriller ‘Sputnik’ is heavy on ‘Alien’ vibes while at the same time looks like it could set a new standard for the genre.
Release date
‘Sputnik’ will be released on August 14 and will be available in select theaters and on-demand.
Plot
According to IFC Midnight, the production company that acquired the film’s distribution rights in North America, ‘Sputnik’ revolves around a young doctor called Tatiana Yurievna (Oksana Akinshina), who due to her controversial methods, is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought to a secure science research facility to assess a very special case, that of Konstantin Sergeyevich (Pyotr Fyodorov), a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has returned to Earth with a unique condition.
There’s something living inside him that only shows itself late at night. And obviously, the military has nefarious plans for it. Tatiana wants to stop it from killing Konstantin. And the creature itself thrives on destruction. According to IFC Midnight, due to the tremendous influence of ‘Alien’ on the genre, extraterrestrial malevolence more often than not feels as if it’s been beamed down directly from the Nostromo (the spaceship in Scott’s film). ‘Sputnik’ promises to buck that tradition of pastiche and deliver something fresh to the genre.
Cast
Oksana Akinshina as Tatyana Yuryevna
The 33-year-old Russian actor is best known for her roles in films such as ‘Sisters’, ‘Lilya 4-ever’, ‘The Bourne Supremacy’, ‘Hipsters’, ‘Vysotsky. Thank You For Being Alive’, and ‘Quiet Comes the Dawn’
Fyodor Bondarchuk as Colonel Semiradov
The 53-year-old Russian film director, actor, TV, and film producer, television host, and entrepreneur has been a part of the Russian film industry for more than three-and-a-half decades. Mostly known as an action star, Bondarchuk’s most notable films include ‘8 ½ $’, ‘Down House’, ‘Two Days’, ‘The PyraMMMid’, and ‘Ghost’. As a filmmaker, he’s directed films such as ‘The 9th Company’, ‘The Inhabited Island’, ‘Stalingrad’, and ‘Attraction’.
Pyotr Fyodorov as Konstantin
The 38-year-old Russian actor is best known for his performances in films like ‘The Inhabited Island’, ‘Stalingrad’, ‘Duelist’, ‘The Icebreaker’, and ‘The Blackout’.
Creator
‘Sputnik’ is directed by Egor Abramenko, and written by Andrei Zolotarev and Oleg Malovichko. The film is produced by Mikhail Vrubel, Alexander Andryushenko, Fedor Bondarchuk, Ilya Stewart, Murad Osmann, Pavel Burya, and Vyacheslav Murugov.
Trailer
The trailer for ‘Sputnik’ dropped on July 21 and the first thought that comes to mind when you see it is just how extraordinary its ‘Alien’ vibe is. The film’s production value, aesthetics, and visual effects look stellar. The trailer introduces us to the premise and builds slowly to the insidious secret that brings it all together. At the very end of the trailer, we get to see the star of the creature-feature -- the alien itself, and it looks extraordinarily repulsive and scary, a feat that is not often achieved by many films in the genre.
If you like ‘Sputnik’, you will also like
‘Alien’, ‘Event Horizon’, ‘Prometheus’, ‘Love Death + Robots’, ‘Gravity’, and ‘Arrival’.