Terrestrial Review: Your Perspective Matters
Steve Pink's TERRESTRIAL is a psychological thriller that examines how we see ourselves and how we want others to see us.
Steve Pink is stretching himself with his new film, Terrestrial, premiering at Fantasia 2025. The director, known for films like Hot Tub Time Machine and Grosse Pointe Blank, is branching out with a psychological thriller that examines the way that we perceive ourselves and the face that we want to put forward to the public, and how, when the intersection of the two doesn’t line up, disaster can follow.
Allen (Jermaine Fowler) is having his college friends come for a visit to celebrate his book and movie deal. Ryan (James Morosini), Maddie (Pauline Chalamet), and Vic (Edy Modica) pull into a lavish house and are greeted by their friend. He takes them around the house, filled with memorabilia from “The Neptune Files” by Allen’s favorite sci-fi writer, SJ Purcell (Brendan Hunt). Everything seems incredible, but as the weekend proceeds, Allen becomes more high-strung, and the visiting friends begin to question the stories that he’s telling.
Terrestrial is an exciting viewing experience. The movie keeps you guessing about what’s coming up next through the first act, and then switches everything you think you know, while at the same time amping up the tension until the thoroughly unhinged ending. And through all of that, it is a fascinating look at how the need to impress others can get in the way of actual success and happiness.
Something I always enjoy is when a film includes a fictional film or television show within it. Creating a whole other movie in a movie generally requires a completely different set, an entirely different cast, and usually a completely different tone. It almost always adds a sense of realism to the primary story, as their world is inhabited by its own entertainment. Terrestrial includes the world of “The Neptune Cycle” with frequent Pink collaborator, Craig Robinson.
This movie is a fascinating genre blender. At its heart, it is most assuredly a psychological thriller, but a sci-fi element emerges, adding a unique twist to the story. There is also plenty of humor, which works well in the context of the tension-filled thriller.
The performances are all excellent. This is a friend group that doesn’t see one another often, and that's a very particular kind of dynamic that the cast nails. They also do well in the archetypes that they play without seeming too cookie-cutter. But Fowler, as Allen, is the one who has to sell the conceit of the movie, and he does that. He does an excellent job of portraying someone trying to sell a narrative and watching it fall apart in real time.
By the time Terrestrial reaches its final act, the story is in full throttle. It borders on absolute chaos, but there is enough structure to hold it from spinning out of control. The result of one bad choice after another is revealed in a deliciously frenzied scene, which serves as a delightful catharsis to the previous events.
At this point in his career, Pink can make movies that fall within the wheelhouse he has already established. But rather than staying in the safety of the known, he brings us Terrestrial, a fun and smart thriller. Sometimes, taking a chance is worth it.
Rating: 4/5
Check out my interview with director Steve Pink.