Prospect DVD Review

Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl’s Prospect is an ultra low budget science fiction film, the story of teenager Cee (Carol Thatcher) and her father Damon (Jay Duplass) on a mission to an alien planet to prospect for valuable gemstones. These are in the form of secretions within the internal organs of a subterranean organism: other than this creature, the heavily forested planet appears to be devoid of animal life – apart, that is, from other human visitors with an interest in getting rich.

This isn’t a big screen spectacular by any means. Special effects are kept to a minimum, and the story revolves around Cee’s need to adapt to the threat from the other visitors, and her developing relationship with Ezra, another prospector played by Pedro Pascal of the Netflix series Narcos.

There’s not much in the way of spectacular visuals, but with a well told story that needn’t be important. With Prospect though, the uneven pace of the film and the underdeveloped characters don’t make a particularly gripping story. To be frank, none of the characters are very appealing, and the plot is wandering and disjointed at times.

Overall, Prospect doesn’t add up to much. It’s competently acted – but it’s just not exciting or interesting, and it has a somewhat cursory feel that makes it difficult to engage with the story, or with its characters.

★★