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The Astronaut
Movie

The Astronaut

2025 • Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Woke Score
4
out of 10

Plot

When an astronaut crash-lands back to Earth, a General places her in quarantine for rehabilitation and testing. As disturbing events unfold, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her home.

Overall Series Review

The Astronaut is a science fiction horror film centered on Captain Sam Walker, a NASA astronaut who crash-lands back to Earth and is confined to a safe house. The psychological thriller elements focus on her fear that something extraterrestrial followed her, which eventually unravels into a government conspiracy and a profound twist on her identity. The film's primary conflict is between the individual and the manipulative institutions of the American military and intelligence apparatus. The narrative structure subtly elevates a powerful female career figure who ultimately rejects her traditional human family for a more 'authentic' extra-terrestrial existence. While avoiding explicit social-political lecturing, the film scores moderately high due to its severe cynicism towards Western government institutions and the final resolution's implications for the family unit. The casting is diverse across various roles, including authority figures, but this does not appear to be the core thematic drive of the plot.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics3/10

The astronaut lead is a white woman and a powerful Captain, and her father is a Black U.S. Army General, suggesting meritocracy within the professional world. The cast is colorblindly diverse in key roles without the plot focusing on race or systemic oppression. The conflict is existential and conspiratorial, not intersectional.

Oikophobia7/10

The central human antagonists are the institutions of the US military and government, represented by General Harris, who is shown to be cold, emotionless, and manipulative. The military is depicted as corrupt, using the main character as a pawn for decades to lure an alien species back to Earth with the intent to steal their technology. This framing demonizes the nation's core defense and intelligence bodies.

Feminism6/10

The protagonist, Sam Walker, is a Captain and a NASA Astronaut, occupying a traditional 'Girl Boss' position of high authority and technical expertise. Her desire to return to her career in space outweighs her immediate focus on the family's well-being and is a reason she keeps her symptoms secret. The ultimate conclusion sees her reject her husband and adopted daughter to join her 'true' alien family, which prioritizes a non-maternal, self-actualized identity over the human family structure.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative focuses exclusively on the traditional male-female pairing of the astronaut and her husband, and their adopted daughter. There is no presence of alternative sexual or gender identity themes, nor does the deconstruction of the nuclear family stem from a queer theory lens; it is purely a science fiction, alien-possession/identity plot point.

Anti-Theism2/10

The movie operates within a purely secular sci-fi and military-conspiracy framework. No characters are depicted as religious or faith-based, and no traditional religious institutions are attacked or villainized. Morality is framed by the secular conflict between the individual and the manipulative government, not by objective spiritual truth or moral relativism.