I kept hoping the ending was going to pay off in this slow moving movie. Nope, It cuts from scene to scene quickly, most flashbacks serve no purpose at all. In the end it just seems a Cosmic Yawn.
13 Reviews
Kinda a waste of time.
citymanguy16 February 2022
Interesting, somewhat derivative, premise let down by conflicting visuals, spotty writing and unnecessarily jumbled presentation
alexdmcintosh16 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
As with most ambitious things, I'm actually having trouble putting into words exactly why it didn't all work in the end.
While losing a mother to something inexplicable and traumatizing is rough on a person, the only thing we get to see of Aurora's life after her mother vanishes is her dancing in a club having fun with drugs. But we don't SEE her problems or how far she's fallen. There's no real indication of how lost she is before the plot proper kicks in and therefore what kind of hole the Cosmic Dawn is filling. I guess we're supposed to figure she's seeing Alyse as a surrogate mother-figure, but that's all shoved aside at the end with no payoff. We needed more moments like the breakfast singalong, which was the first time in the film that a visual callback worked, showing Aurora getting the same high from her life before. But when I don't know what void she's trying to fill, I wondered why she kept going along with it all.
The script is smart in spots. I'm glad they dropped the Four Years Later/Ago captions real quick, and cleverly use names and ideas dropped into conversations to introduce them, then immediately jump to the other time to illustrate their importance. That connective tissue kept me following the narrative when I wasn't sure from one scene to the next When we were. Maybe a varied visual style between the time periods would have worked better, because Moneo knows how to make interesting cosmic visuals, but I'm not convinced he knows how to shoot slower, character-driven scenes interestingly.
But then there's Tom the Walking Plot Hole. Taking into account the twist at the end that he is, in fact, a True Believer/Reptilicus in disguise/Whatever, it calls into question literally everything he does in the film. If he has always been a believer that Natalie was going to open the doorway, why hide the phone in the woods to call her father and argue with her? If he were a plant to weed out non-believers like Aurora, again, why show doubt away from her? How did Dieter know Aurora would go to see Tom after getting the blue envelope? If we're supposed to think he got converted in the intervening four years, why did Tom try to hide the blue envelope to stop her from going back? Did Tom think she was going to trust him after trying to get her to watch it when Tom wasn't suppose to let her know he knew about the envelope in the first place? Nothing he does makes sense once you get that ending.
Another issue is the lack of a center of gravity for the drama. No offense to Antonia Zegers, who is a fine actress and does great work here, but she is pretty miscast as Alyse. Feel free to disagree - she DOES have some captivating eyes - but she doesn't have the draw and charisma of a cult leader, coming across more like your cool, single Aunt instead (an Aunt Amy from Daria, if you will, but less sarcastic). Most cult leaders seem to have a pretty normal, accessible exterior that peels away once you're in their isolated world, but its just hard to buy into her soft-spoken, floaty performance that commands everyone's loyalty when she's like that from the very beginning. They just seem like a group of weirdos being weird, and no one is drawn to that.
And we need to talk about the "cheepnis" of it all. There are great visuals and better integrated greenscreens than other small budget films, but it was a mistake setting so much of the story in the "Mothership". I didn't buy from the first frame that these were "renovated tunnels", as it looked like a stage from a high school play or a Star Trek TOS set - all neon lights and painted Styrofoam. A real location would have been much more immersive, and maybe allowed for more interesting shots than trackings and shot/reverse shot. The longer we lingered there and had time to examine it all, the more flimsy it looked and the more I was taken out of it.
Maybe its the fact that it left no real room for wondering if it was real or not, maybe it's that the space gods were just reptilian humanoids, but it just didn't work. It doesn't feel like a payoff at the end because it turns out things ARE exactly how they seem, so it didn't feel like any journey of discovery had happened. Yes, her mother was abducted. Yes, the flowers did allow communication. Yes, the cult was telling the truth. If you'd left me on a shot of all the bodies of the cult at the bottom of the cliff where the doorway appeared, it would have recontextualized the whole story. But there was no ambiguity or subtext to the story. I don't know what this was trying to say, and after having just seen it, I can't even take a stab at a guess.
While losing a mother to something inexplicable and traumatizing is rough on a person, the only thing we get to see of Aurora's life after her mother vanishes is her dancing in a club having fun with drugs. But we don't SEE her problems or how far she's fallen. There's no real indication of how lost she is before the plot proper kicks in and therefore what kind of hole the Cosmic Dawn is filling. I guess we're supposed to figure she's seeing Alyse as a surrogate mother-figure, but that's all shoved aside at the end with no payoff. We needed more moments like the breakfast singalong, which was the first time in the film that a visual callback worked, showing Aurora getting the same high from her life before. But when I don't know what void she's trying to fill, I wondered why she kept going along with it all.
The script is smart in spots. I'm glad they dropped the Four Years Later/Ago captions real quick, and cleverly use names and ideas dropped into conversations to introduce them, then immediately jump to the other time to illustrate their importance. That connective tissue kept me following the narrative when I wasn't sure from one scene to the next When we were. Maybe a varied visual style between the time periods would have worked better, because Moneo knows how to make interesting cosmic visuals, but I'm not convinced he knows how to shoot slower, character-driven scenes interestingly.
But then there's Tom the Walking Plot Hole. Taking into account the twist at the end that he is, in fact, a True Believer/Reptilicus in disguise/Whatever, it calls into question literally everything he does in the film. If he has always been a believer that Natalie was going to open the doorway, why hide the phone in the woods to call her father and argue with her? If he were a plant to weed out non-believers like Aurora, again, why show doubt away from her? How did Dieter know Aurora would go to see Tom after getting the blue envelope? If we're supposed to think he got converted in the intervening four years, why did Tom try to hide the blue envelope to stop her from going back? Did Tom think she was going to trust him after trying to get her to watch it when Tom wasn't suppose to let her know he knew about the envelope in the first place? Nothing he does makes sense once you get that ending.
Another issue is the lack of a center of gravity for the drama. No offense to Antonia Zegers, who is a fine actress and does great work here, but she is pretty miscast as Alyse. Feel free to disagree - she DOES have some captivating eyes - but she doesn't have the draw and charisma of a cult leader, coming across more like your cool, single Aunt instead (an Aunt Amy from Daria, if you will, but less sarcastic). Most cult leaders seem to have a pretty normal, accessible exterior that peels away once you're in their isolated world, but its just hard to buy into her soft-spoken, floaty performance that commands everyone's loyalty when she's like that from the very beginning. They just seem like a group of weirdos being weird, and no one is drawn to that.
And we need to talk about the "cheepnis" of it all. There are great visuals and better integrated greenscreens than other small budget films, but it was a mistake setting so much of the story in the "Mothership". I didn't buy from the first frame that these were "renovated tunnels", as it looked like a stage from a high school play or a Star Trek TOS set - all neon lights and painted Styrofoam. A real location would have been much more immersive, and maybe allowed for more interesting shots than trackings and shot/reverse shot. The longer we lingered there and had time to examine it all, the more flimsy it looked and the more I was taken out of it.
Maybe its the fact that it left no real room for wondering if it was real or not, maybe it's that the space gods were just reptilian humanoids, but it just didn't work. It doesn't feel like a payoff at the end because it turns out things ARE exactly how they seem, so it didn't feel like any journey of discovery had happened. Yes, her mother was abducted. Yes, the flowers did allow communication. Yes, the cult was telling the truth. If you'd left me on a shot of all the bodies of the cult at the bottom of the cliff where the doorway appeared, it would have recontextualized the whole story. But there was no ambiguity or subtext to the story. I don't know what this was trying to say, and after having just seen it, I can't even take a stab at a guess.
one weird movie
kaefab11 February 2022
Save Yourself ... Time and Money
ruble-huff11 February 2022
This film left me bored and confused. I always have trouble with the reasoning behind aliens structuring cosmic-scale events around a 'chosen one' or a rather small group of individuals.
Many questions came to mind that were of course left unanswered. If I am expected to fill in this many blanks myself, I may as well have written the script myself. It probably would have had more coherency.
In my opinion, rental money wasted and invaluable time lost. Find something better to watch. It won't be hard to do.
Many questions came to mind that were of course left unanswered. If I am expected to fill in this many blanks myself, I may as well have written the script myself. It probably would have had more coherency.
In my opinion, rental money wasted and invaluable time lost. Find something better to watch. It won't be hard to do.
Cosmic Yawn
bencrea14 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I waited for this to get interesting, even to hear the music from MGMT but that seemed to be a wasted opportunity too.
The plot does a see saw act right thru the duration of the film, are they an insane cult? Is it all real?
Nothing is really explained, the constant synth glissando wipe between the past and present is cheesy. The final scenes use very little special fx and no you can't run in space, sorry.
This was a major disappointment. Anyone rating this film higher than a 3 is delusional.
The plot does a see saw act right thru the duration of the film, are they an insane cult? Is it all real?
Nothing is really explained, the constant synth glissando wipe between the past and present is cheesy. The final scenes use very little special fx and no you can't run in space, sorry.
This was a major disappointment. Anyone rating this film higher than a 3 is delusional.
Very low budget and it shows.
deloudelouvain6 January 2024
I got fooled by the positive reviews Cosmic Dawn got on here. My fault, I should have done more research about it before watching this low budget sci-fi, if you can call it like that. The first half hour looked promising, even though it's obvious that it was very low budget. There was a mysterious vibe about it so I remained interested for awhile. But that completely changed in the second half of the movie. The story got boring, they even started singing which was not a good idea. The acting was what to expect with very low budget movies, mediocre at best to put it nicely. The special effects, again if you can call it like that, looked like they have been done in 1960 when we just didn't have the technology. To be honest I think a twelve year old can do a better job with his phone nowadays. Anyway, just don't bother with this one unless you don't mind boring low budget movies.
Cosmic
BandSAboutMovies13 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
After witnessing an alien abduction as a child and dealing with the trauma of it for her entire life, Aurora (Camille Rowe, The Deep House) has read a book about The Cosmic Dawn before she's drawn into the orbit of the cult's leader Elyse (Antonia Zegers).
Wondering just how real this could be? Director and writer Jefferson Moneo claims to have had an alien experience as a child and that this could all be real.
As she becomes entrenced into the cult, her consciouness expands, she learns more about why and how her mother was abducted and begins to worry about the more bizarre way that the cult has begun to act. Then, the film fast-forwards to years after the cult has been broken up, yet Elyse reappears and claims that she can access another dimension and is also planning a mass suicide of all still-believing cult members.
With a score by Alan Howarth, music by MGMT and a perfect scene with the songs "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" - originally by Klaatu and then also released by The Carpenters - as well as a purple/pink neon color palette that feels straight out of Color Out of Space, this is an odd duck of a film and I say that in the best possible tone. I've often wondered just why someone would join a cult like this and seeing the reasons why Aurora comes to the initial meetings to the initial joy she feels in belonging to something makes it all seem so much more normal than you'd ever think. And then the movie gets delightfully strange.
Wondering just how real this could be? Director and writer Jefferson Moneo claims to have had an alien experience as a child and that this could all be real.
As she becomes entrenced into the cult, her consciouness expands, she learns more about why and how her mother was abducted and begins to worry about the more bizarre way that the cult has begun to act. Then, the film fast-forwards to years after the cult has been broken up, yet Elyse reappears and claims that she can access another dimension and is also planning a mass suicide of all still-believing cult members.
With a score by Alan Howarth, music by MGMT and a perfect scene with the songs "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" - originally by Klaatu and then also released by The Carpenters - as well as a purple/pink neon color palette that feels straight out of Color Out of Space, this is an odd duck of a film and I say that in the best possible tone. I've often wondered just why someone would join a cult like this and seeing the reasons why Aurora comes to the initial meetings to the initial joy she feels in belonging to something makes it all seem so much more normal than you'd ever think. And then the movie gets delightfully strange.
refreshing with a dash of 70s
LazyDaisee-3688228 February 2022
Interesting take on the cult phenomena...
paul_haakonsen24 March 2022
I hadn't heard about this 2022 sci-fi thriller titled "Cosmic Dawn" from writer and director Jefferson Moneo prior to sitting down to watch it. Normally, I am not overly keen on sci-fi movies, but the synopsis for this particular movie actually sounded interesting, and thus I opted to watch it.
I will say that writer and director Jefferson Moneo managed to deliver a rather unique movie here, for better or worse. "Cosmic Dawn" is not your average run-of-the-mill mainstream movie, because the storyline is pretty far out there. And in that sense, then writer and director Jefferson Moneo managed to capture the dangers of a cult and the way that a cult works in brainwashing and manipulating its members in a rather entertaining manner. Sure, I am no expert on cults, and never been in a cult, but I really found the portrayal of the Cosmic Dawn cult in this movie rather interesting.
The movie was actually entertaining and it is worth watching, especially if you enjoy movies that are not mainstream movies. It was a refreshing change of pace, I would say, and I can recommend you sit down to watch "Cosmic Dawn" if you get the chance.
While "Cosmic Dawn" was enjoyable and entertaining throughout the entire course, I have to admit that I didn't care much about the last 5 minutes of the movie and the ending to the movie. But of course, that is a matter of personal taste and preference. But other than that, then I found "Cosmic Dawn" to be wholesome and entertaining.
While I wasn't familiar with the cast in "Cosmic Dawn", I will say that they had managed to put together a great cast ensemble, and the actresses and actors in the movie really put on good performances. I was especially impressed with Antonia Zegers (playing Elyse) and also Camille Rowe (playing Aurora).
This movie is strange and bizarre, no doubt about it, but that is part of what makes it enjoyable.
My rating of "Cosmic Dawn" lands on a six out of ten stars.
I will say that writer and director Jefferson Moneo managed to deliver a rather unique movie here, for better or worse. "Cosmic Dawn" is not your average run-of-the-mill mainstream movie, because the storyline is pretty far out there. And in that sense, then writer and director Jefferson Moneo managed to capture the dangers of a cult and the way that a cult works in brainwashing and manipulating its members in a rather entertaining manner. Sure, I am no expert on cults, and never been in a cult, but I really found the portrayal of the Cosmic Dawn cult in this movie rather interesting.
The movie was actually entertaining and it is worth watching, especially if you enjoy movies that are not mainstream movies. It was a refreshing change of pace, I would say, and I can recommend you sit down to watch "Cosmic Dawn" if you get the chance.
While "Cosmic Dawn" was enjoyable and entertaining throughout the entire course, I have to admit that I didn't care much about the last 5 minutes of the movie and the ending to the movie. But of course, that is a matter of personal taste and preference. But other than that, then I found "Cosmic Dawn" to be wholesome and entertaining.
While I wasn't familiar with the cast in "Cosmic Dawn", I will say that they had managed to put together a great cast ensemble, and the actresses and actors in the movie really put on good performances. I was especially impressed with Antonia Zegers (playing Elyse) and also Camille Rowe (playing Aurora).
This movie is strange and bizarre, no doubt about it, but that is part of what makes it enjoyable.
My rating of "Cosmic Dawn" lands on a six out of ten stars.
Highly Under Rated Cerebral SciFi (more fi than sci)
jakeigoe11 November 2022
I highly recommend this to anybody who enjoys slower paced, cerebral, emotional SciFi, and/or anyone who enjoys the cult genre. I happen to enjoy both, which is why I took a chance on it with such a low rating.
This is a compelling story following a girl who had an UFO experience in childhood. One that she has never been able to cope with properly. Her trauma makes her vulnerable to the influence of a cult later in life.
Most of this film bounces back and forth between a four year period when she reaches early adulthood. Although this sometimes feels confusing, because we are often introduced to characters in the present, when there is an obvious back story from the time frame set four years prior, it very effectively produces an air of mystery. Trust the the connections will be made in following scenes.
A SciFi fan who enjoys plots based mostly on scientific fact will be disappointed. This film focuses more on the "what ifs", or is it possible? It's deeply emotional and character driven, with the plot unfolding slowly.
I gave it a 9/10 to help offset some of the lower ratings. Realistically It's probably a 7.5/10.
I find the most helpful part of reviews, when undecided about investing my time in a low ranked film, is a comparison to other movies. If you enjoyed Brit Marlins "Sound of My Voice" or "The Endless", both of which also have cult themed SciFi, you will love this film. Obviously, I recommend both of those films if you enjoyed this one.
This is a compelling story following a girl who had an UFO experience in childhood. One that she has never been able to cope with properly. Her trauma makes her vulnerable to the influence of a cult later in life.
Most of this film bounces back and forth between a four year period when she reaches early adulthood. Although this sometimes feels confusing, because we are often introduced to characters in the present, when there is an obvious back story from the time frame set four years prior, it very effectively produces an air of mystery. Trust the the connections will be made in following scenes.
A SciFi fan who enjoys plots based mostly on scientific fact will be disappointed. This film focuses more on the "what ifs", or is it possible? It's deeply emotional and character driven, with the plot unfolding slowly.
I gave it a 9/10 to help offset some of the lower ratings. Realistically It's probably a 7.5/10.
I find the most helpful part of reviews, when undecided about investing my time in a low ranked film, is a comparison to other movies. If you enjoyed Brit Marlins "Sound of My Voice" or "The Endless", both of which also have cult themed SciFi, you will love this film. Obviously, I recommend both of those films if you enjoyed this one.
A cosmic homerun...
stevesinger-200113 February 2022
"Cosmic Dawn" is the type of movie you hope to run across when you are perusing the new releases. It's an engrossing and entertaining little film that almost defies categorization.
The movie starts with Aurora on a camping trip with her mother, where she sees her mother apparently abducted by aliens. We jump forward, and Aurora is now fully grown and with some serious issues, needless to say. A chance meeting in a book store with a woman named Natalie leads her to a group of like minded "UFO experience survivors" led by Elyse, who has written a book called "Cosmic Dawn." The movie then jumps four years later, and we spend the movie going back and forth between the timelines, showing us Aurora's experiences with what turns out to be a cult and what is happening four years later when it appears she is being haunted by her past...
"Cosmic Dawn" does just about everything right. It's got an appealing heroine that we are rooting for and a captivating, intelligent storyline that keeps your interest throughout, and it has an ending that pays off. Special effects are good, and not overused. The acting is uniformly excellent, with special kudos to Emmanuelle Chriqui and Joshua Burge as Aurora's closest friends in the cult and Antonia Zegers as the creepy -- but not too creepy -- leader. And model turned actress Camille Rowe is a minor revelation as Aurora, wonderfully straddling the line between belief and non-belief. (And on an aside, she was probably thrilled to get offered a role that doesn't depend on men drooling over her beauty). And "Cosmic Dawn" is the early favorite for "Best Scene in a Movie for 2022", when the leader of a UFO cult leads the cult members in singing Klaatu's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft."
The movie deftly mixes science fiction, drama, religion, cults, and a small dash of horror into an absolute winner. All in all, "Cosmic Dawn" get an easy recommendation, definitely worth checking out.
The movie starts with Aurora on a camping trip with her mother, where she sees her mother apparently abducted by aliens. We jump forward, and Aurora is now fully grown and with some serious issues, needless to say. A chance meeting in a book store with a woman named Natalie leads her to a group of like minded "UFO experience survivors" led by Elyse, who has written a book called "Cosmic Dawn." The movie then jumps four years later, and we spend the movie going back and forth between the timelines, showing us Aurora's experiences with what turns out to be a cult and what is happening four years later when it appears she is being haunted by her past...
"Cosmic Dawn" does just about everything right. It's got an appealing heroine that we are rooting for and a captivating, intelligent storyline that keeps your interest throughout, and it has an ending that pays off. Special effects are good, and not overused. The acting is uniformly excellent, with special kudos to Emmanuelle Chriqui and Joshua Burge as Aurora's closest friends in the cult and Antonia Zegers as the creepy -- but not too creepy -- leader. And model turned actress Camille Rowe is a minor revelation as Aurora, wonderfully straddling the line between belief and non-belief. (And on an aside, she was probably thrilled to get offered a role that doesn't depend on men drooling over her beauty). And "Cosmic Dawn" is the early favorite for "Best Scene in a Movie for 2022", when the leader of a UFO cult leads the cult members in singing Klaatu's "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft."
The movie deftly mixes science fiction, drama, religion, cults, and a small dash of horror into an absolute winner. All in all, "Cosmic Dawn" get an easy recommendation, definitely worth checking out.
This is BY FAR the most important Canadian film about a spaceship cult this year
bunchofsavages27 August 2022
Just wow. I hope that the director received accolades for this gorgeous piece of art at all the most important film festivals.
This is an incredible film, one with something for everyone to enjoy - for example, when the cult ecstatically danced and sang to "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", I knew that i would follow them forever.
The acting on this film is worthy of all the Daytime Emmies, all of them, even the ones for technical stuff and craft services.
The acid sequence was also a winner. I took acid once at a small festival in the early 2000s and it was exactly as portrayed. Uncanny.
And the ending? No spoilers but hang on to your hats! Whoo! Pheoooooow.
This is an incredible film, one with something for everyone to enjoy - for example, when the cult ecstatically danced and sang to "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", I knew that i would follow them forever.
The acting on this film is worthy of all the Daytime Emmies, all of them, even the ones for technical stuff and craft services.
The acid sequence was also a winner. I took acid once at a small festival in the early 2000s and it was exactly as portrayed. Uncanny.
And the ending? No spoilers but hang on to your hats! Whoo! Pheoooooow.
Modest Masterpiece!
dani-24411 February 2022
Some of the acting is not perfect, to be sure, but this movie is a small masterpiece, and it is already being, and will be, so recognized. Psy travellers will know that herein is to be seen on a screen some of the most real renditions of the unrenderable.
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