Descendent (2025) review – Aliens, trauma, and identity crises

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are going to be taking a look at a movie that is part cosmic horror, part psychological horror in the form of Descendent (2025).

Before we start, we have also explained the ending to this movie because it is a bit on the complex side of life. If you need answers, head on over to our Descendent Ending Explained article to take a look. Remember, though unlike this review the ending explained article does contain spoilers.

It’s another trauma dump horror movie

It’s impossible to escape this trend of allegorical horror stories. I moaned about it with The Surrender, I made mention of it with In Vitro, and I am having to talk about it again with Descendent. Horror can’t simply be about just spooks and monsters in 2025. It has to have a message; it has to be deeper than surface level; it has to be an allegory for something.

It’s getting very old. I just want to watch a simple horror movie without having to dissect the real meaning of it. Call me old fashioned but it’s getting tiring. Anyways, enough complaining about that, it’s time to complain about the film itself; on with the review. Descendent follows the story of a troubled, soon to be father. Who begins experiencing unsettling visions after spotting a strange light in the sky.

“Horror can’t simply be about just spooks and monsters in 2025. It has to have a message… It’s getting very old.”

Your key words there are “troubled” and “soon to be father”. You can probably see where this movie is going. For a small part of the film, Descendent is a legitimate alien themed horror movie with lots of sky staring and a few encounters with some actual (I think) aliens. For the rest of the time, it is a bland psychological horror about a man struggling to come to terms with his crappy childhood and lacklustre life.

A strange mix of story elements

The bringing together of aliens with impending parenthood and past trauma seems like a strange mix. Weirdly enough, however, aliens have been used as a metaphor for the parenting experience a few times in horror. Alien, Aliens, Species, Arrival, Vivarium, Slither, Inseminoid. It’s a strangely common trope. Maybe it’s because of all the vigorous probing that aliens are so famous for?

Descendent leans into the trope in a way that feels, honestly, a bit confused. Every now and then, it turns full blown alien abduction horror with some apparent Fire in the Sky vibes. Actual spaceships, gooey stuff all over the protagonist’s face, gruesome experiments. The full shebang!

For the most part, however, this is a very slow, brooding, film. Focused, predominantly, on a man’s struggle to come to terms with his traumatic past in anticipation of becoming a father. You know, the whole personal insecurities, feelings of inadequacy, parental anxieties, and the like.

It’s all framed against a backdrop of scary visions, recently attained superpowers like being able to hear people’s conversations from far away, and a compulsive desire to draw the things he sees or dreams about. Like I said earlier, Descendent feels confused and unwilling to fully commit to one idea or the other.

Neither story element works all that well

A big part of the problem is that neither element of the film is all that strong. The alien stuff is overly familiar. It’s extremely reminiscent of the aforementioned Fire in the Sky, and simply a bit cheap feeling. You know, like they wanted to shoehorn in some abduction stuff but only had £200 and a couple of cans of silly string to do it.

“It’s like Duelling Banjos but with science fiction and psychological horror.”

The psychological stuff is, again, very familiar. If you have seen one “is it a mental illness or is it real” horror movie you have seen them all. Think The Babadook, Relic, or You Are Not My Mother. The weird thing is, the two disparate elements end up competing against each other for space in your brain.

There are enough hints that this is a real alien abduction that it begins to push the mental health crisis stuff out. Only for the abduction stuff to suddenly be forced into the background and the psychological stuff to take centre stage, again. It’s like Duelling Banjos but with science fiction and psychological horror.

I never really felt as though it worked all that well or that director Peter Cilella was entirely sure of how to balance the themes. I can never shake the feeling that the majority of these movies have a lot of ideas but are nowhere near as smart as they think they are. Descendent is no exception.

There is definitely an audience for this type of horror

With all of that being said, some viewers will enjoy the metaphor heavy plot. There are themes related to toxic masculinity, the male’s role as a parental figure, the grieving process, and the fear of cyclical familial trauma.

Our protagonist’s anxieties about parenthood and desire to provide and protect for his family while having a narrow grip on his own personal problems should be relatable to many who have experienced loss and difficult childhoods.

“Because if there is one thing horror writers hate, it is crafting a beginning, a middle, and an end.”

Descendent is occasionally atmospheric and tense, even if there is limited payoff. Direction is fairly solid and the story is sometimes interesting despite being a little directionless. Acting is very good. I wish Irish actor Sarah Bolger could use her actual accent. She’s fantastic but she gets a bit marbled mouthed at times, here, and can be tough to understand.

Ross Marquand is excellent in the lead role. He does a nice job of making the character’s crisis both relatable and realistic. The script is less stellar. There are some terrible lines scattered here and there. This is another movie with that distinct feeling that AI is being used to pad the screenplay.

The ending is going to disappoint some viewers. It’s your standard “it was all in his head, or was it?” climax that films like these are so known for. Ultimately unsatisfying and non-committal. Because if there is one thing horror writers hate, it is crafting a beginning, a middle, and an end.

You might also like:

• House on Eden (2025) review – Influencers take on found footage
• The Resort (2021) Review – A Sunny Vacation Slasher That Fails To Land
• After Midnight (2019) Review – A Creature Feature with a Romantic Heart
• Stay (2025) review – Hulu’s latest horror offering falls flat
• Hallow Road (2025) review – A road trip into trauma and boredom

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

Support the Site Knockout Horror is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Basically, if you click a link to rent or buy a movie, we may earn a tiny commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps keep the lights on and the nightmares coming. Don't worry, we will never recommend a movie purely to generate clicks. If it's bad, we will tell you.

Disclaimer: Images, posters, and video stills used in this review are the property of their respective copyright holders. They are included here for the purposes of commentary, criticism, and review under fair use. Knockout Horror makes no claim of ownership and encourages readers to support the official release of all films discussed.