Sputnik  ★★★½

SPUTNIK has set Egor Abramenko on a successful trajectory.

The 2021 horror sci-fi thriller was the Russian writer/director’s first feature and is already set to be remade by Hollywood.

It’s not hard to see why. Sputnik is a very tense affair with major Alien overtones.

It tells the story of psychiatrist Dr Tatyana Klimova whom we meet in 1983 being berated by a review panel for her allegedly vigorous methods in the treatment of a particular individual.

Put on notice, Klimova (Oksana Akinshina) is wary when approached by Colonel Semiradov, the head of a military facility, and asked to take part in an highly-secret assignment.

Her curiosity and ego piqued, Klimova agrees to interrogate a cosmonaut displaying strange behaviour following his recent return from space.

Eventually Semiradov reveals that the cosmonaut also has physical symptoms indicating he may have brought something back with him.

The intricacies of the plot are slowly revealed leading to a climax that will put everyone at the facility in danger.

Taut direction and editing, a solid script and acting make Sputnik not to be missed