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Descendent

Play trailer Poster for Descendent 2025 1h 32m Sci-Fi Horror Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A troubled man experiences strange visions after a mysterious light appears in the sky. With a baby on the way, he races to face his demons before his growing obsession consumes him.

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Descendent

Critics Reviews

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Matt Zoller Seitz RogerEbert.com Aug 8
3/4
Among its other virtues, 'Descendent' is a classic example of how a low-budget movie can do more with less. Go to Full Review
Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com 03/16/2025
Cilella keeps the plates spinning enough to make one curious about his follow-up. Go to Full Review
Dennis Harvey Variety 03/14/2025
[Descendent] limns its protagonist’s unraveling with suspenseful skill. But those expecting straightforward sci-fi horror may resent the writer-director’s insistence on sticking to an ambiguity. Go to Full Review
John Serba Decider 2d
Descendent is admirable for being a small, low-budget film making the most, and maybe a bit more, out of very little. Go to Full Review
Kat Hughes THN Oct 28
4/5
A slow burn atmospheric psychological thriller with a compelling lead character expertly performed by Ross Marquand, Descendent is proof that, in the right hands, the alien abduction story can be handled well. Go to Full Review
Sarah Vincent Sarah G Vincent Views Aug 19
“Descendent” proves that Ross Marquand is such a good actor that even viewers who get angry if the story has no clear resolution may overlook ambiguity because of the sincerity and emotion in his performance. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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S C @RT03109890 16h Compelling film that combines a sci-fi set storyline with a reflection on parenthood. If you like the Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead films (Synchronic, Resolution, The Endless) then you'll definitely enjoy this and be thinking about it longer after the final credit roll. See more Lindsey A @RT14474388 3d How am I the only one who hated this ending!?! It leaves you on this cliffhanger and i want to know what happens!! Did the wife survive labor? Did the baby?? What is going on!?!? See more Kristal P @RT60589595 Mar 22 I really enjoyed this movie—it kept me on edge the entire time and held my attention from start to finish. The suspense was strong and made the experience very engaging. However, I do wish the ending had included a bit more explanation, as it felt slightly incomplete. Overall, though, I liked it and found it to be a compelling watch. See more Jeffrey P @vanillavoodoo1 Mar 21 Revealed too much too soon given the ending... but it was otherwise solid and well performed. See more R S @greyfoot Feb 7 This film has excellent editing & suspense. Marquand's performance is great, too. But the decision to keep the script COMPLETELY cryptic even to the end was a mistake. Taking us through all that for no pay off is extremely frustrating. Too bad, because this could have been very good. See more Gelsey G @qelseyy Jan 16 Terrible movie with no meaning. See more Read all reviews
Descendent

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis A troubled man experiences strange visions after a mysterious light appears in the sky. With a baby on the way, he races to face his demons before his growing obsession consumes him.
Director
Peter Cilella
Producer
David Lawson Jr., Caleb Ward, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Screenwriter
Peter Cilella
Distributor
RLJE Films
Production Co
Rustic Films
Genre
Sci-Fi, Horror, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 8, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 15, 2025
Runtime
1h 32m
Aspect Ratio
Digital 2.39:1