Critics Loved Pedro Pascal's Sci-Fi Western That Audiences Unfairly Skipped

There are dozens of minimalist sci-fi flicks every year that impress critics on festival circuits yet fly so under the radar of wider audiences that they wind up as commercial failures (even if they're solid entertainment). Directors Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl's 2018 feature debut, "Prospect," an ambitious low-budget sci-fi drama, is a perfect example. Despite starring Pedro Pascal, who already made some waves on his road to fame through "Narcos" before appearing here, and introducing the young and stupendously talented Sophie Thatcher, "Prospect" was buried quickly upon release since barely anybody went to see it.

Granted, Caldwell and Earl's feature isn't the kind of visually arresting and epic sci-fi blockbuster like Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" remakes or "Blade Runner 2049," but a rather quiet and modest flick, riding on atmosphere and a character-driven narrative. If you're after mind-blowing set pieces and million-dollar CGI monsters, "Prospect" likely won't be your cup of tea. But if you can appreciate an ambient setting with a retro-futuristic feel and a handful of strong characters to lead a straightforward yet curious plot, this little indie might become your latest gem.

"Prospect" follows the father-daughter duo of Damon (Jay Duplass) and Cee (Thatcher) as they descend to a forest moon (where the air is poisonous) to mine valuable gems under its surface found in living organisms. However, they have to begin prospecting several miles away from their initial target location as the pod they travel in malfunctions, forcing them to execute an emergency landing. To their detriment, they encounter two other prospectors, Ezra (Pascal) and his wordless companion, who attempt to rob them.

Right from the moment they arrive on that luscious, if somewhat threatening, planet, the environment becomes a key feature of "Prospect." Shot on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, Zeek Earl's cinematography immediately strikes your senses with a deep, living-and-breathing forest, contaminated by tiny poisonous particles drifting in the air to give off a special ambience tainted by an ominous vibe. The blossoming flora of the place brings to mind the similar beauty and natural wonder that HBO Max's "Scavengers Reign" reveled in so magnificently. There's a vague feel to this place, suggesting that humans may not be the most menacing creatures on it but simply trespassers. Yet, as it's often the case, they turn out to be the most violent ones.

There's an elevated nature to how all the characters speak in "Prospect," using a vocabulary and cadence oddly formal for who they essentially are and the dog-eat-dog nature they live by. Blackmail, murder, and barbaric traditions abound throughout the movie, as well as the occasional gun violence and one surprisingly brutal scene of an emergency amputation. But it's undeniable that the two writer-directors also aim to land a contemplative, profoundly existential mood in their film through the two richly drawn protagonists the audience gets to know through their slowly developing bond.

It's not always crystal-clear what the connection between Ezra and Cee should grow into — it's far from the surrogate-father-daughter relationship that Pascal and Bella Ramsey share in "The Last of Us" — but there's an engrossing curiosity to their bond the deeper the movie gets. In the end, they feel like a pair who were destined to meet in order to help each other survive, even if that contrasts with their first encounter.

Made on a minuscule $4 million budget, "Prospect" made a miserable $22,777 worldwide at the box office. Granted, it was only released in Regal Cinemas theaters after it received a positive reception from critics when screened at several film festivals. As of this writing, "Prospect" holds an 89% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes (along with a 73% audience rating).

In retrospect, Pascal was nowhere near the kind of household name he is today, and Thatcher was completely unknown since her big break came three years later in Paramount+'s "Yellowjackets" — before appearing in such popular projects as "Heretic," "The Boogeyman," and "Companion" — which might've been a contributing factor in why audiences skipped "Prospect" back then. And the fact that "Prospect" is quite a specific indie film, not necessarily designed to impress mass audiences but rather a smaller group of devoted sci-fi fans open to something unusual.

So it isn't a surprise that in the past eight years more and more viewers started discovering it through streaming and other means, falling in love with its strangeness as well as its uncanny milieu. It'd be an exaggeration to say "Prospect" is already a cult classic, but it's definitely on its way to becoming one soon as a low-key gem destined to find its way into the heart of sci-fi enthusiasts — and rightfully so.