Cosmic Dawn Review- A Gorgeous Glittery Glance At The Misunderstood

Cosmic Dawn will remind you of so many different things at once, most of them full of nostalgia. What starts as a stereotypical sci-fi thriller takes a final act twist that is unexpected and vastly more interesting than anticipated. It’s a weird little premise that asks you to consider what if the Heaven’s Gate cult wasn’t wrong? The film is brimming with gorgeous glittery imagery and a bonkers soundtrack that is both cheezy and effective.

Cosmic Dawn begins with the alien abduction of Aurora’s mother on a remote family camping trip when Aurora was a young girl. Flash forward, and the now young woman her aunt raised is haunted by memories of what happened that night. When a chance encounter with a fellow abductee gives Aurora a chance to join a cult of like-minded believers thinks she may finally have found a home and some answers. The story unfolds between two different timelines and neon-soaked visuals that coalesce into a wild ending that will have you questioning everything you think you know.

Aurora has grown up being told what she remembers isn’t real. Her aunt goes so far as to have her committed to a psychiatric facility for a time in hopes of helping the girl process the grief of losing her mother so young. However, when Aurora joins the commune at the suggestion of Natalie, a tremendous Emmanuelle Chriqui, she finds acceptance and maybe is a step closer to finding her mother. Chriqui is so captivating it is easy to understand why Aurora is so easily swayed. She is earnest, very believable, and mesmerizing in her mysteriousness.

Model turned actress Camille Rowe in her debut role is good. Better still is Antonia Zegers’ cult leader Elyse. The singing, dancing zealot has great taste in music and a jittery energy to her that is fun to watch. You never really know what she might do next in service of her purpose. Natalie’s husband, Tom, played with scruffy sweetness by Joshua Burge(The Revenant), is a fellow cult member and nonbeliever who plays an integral role in the final act.

The commune is resplendent in geometric structures, circular lighting, primary colors, and industrial starkness. Set design by Danielle Sahota builds the world of the alien cult perfectly. Costume design by Emma Doye is equally good, mixing monochromatic comfy wear with muted neutrals to help distinguish the different timelines.

Original music by MGMT, Composer Alan Howarth(Big Trouble in Little China), and Andrew Vanwyngarden is excellent. The techno-pop sound of MGMT works in concert with Howarth’s trippy sound that infuses everything with an otherworldly quality that any alien would love.

The story flits from present-day to four years prior, sometimes confusingly, with only a spacey video game sound and visual effect to signify the change. Once you figure out which is which, things become much clearer. Everything has a trippy ’80s music video vibe that is a cool throwback and, weirdly, serves the film’s overall feel. Cosmic Dawn may present as a sci-fi thriller, but it feels more like a blast from the past with a cool twist ending that leaves plenty on the table.

More times than not, aliens serve as placeholders for societal fears. Otherness, communism, and military invasion were all things explored through the lenses of aliens. The many works of Lovecraft and several classic Twilight Zone episodes, including The Invaders, The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, and People Are Alike All Over, feature those themes. We fear the unknown because it is different, and the potential for danger can be great.

The insidious quality of cults works hand in hand with this kind of fear as they consume the person in place of the group. The cult members often give up everything for the leader and lose all sense of themselves, including free will. Cosmic Dawn takes these ideas and focuses them through a different lens. It’s a unique approach, and Cosmic Dawn is better for it. Writer/Director Jefferson Moneo asks us to ponder whether aliens might actually exist and what that would mean for humans.

The film asks that you suspend your opinions on groups like these. It also requires a healthy amount of acceptance that sometimes what looks like mania is something else entirely. He developed this story from a personal experience with extraterrestrials, and the film feels honest if utterly bonkers because of it. Taken at face value, Cosmic Dawn may be a little too trite, but viewed as a metaphor for people not understanding or believing your life experiences, the film is extremely successful. In any case, the sound and imagery are literary out of this world and worth a watch.

Cosmic Dawn is out on VOD on February 11th.