I.S.S. – A Terrific Premise Undone By Uneven Execution

I.S.S. (International Space Station) is a science-fiction thriller from director Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish) entirely set aboard the titular space station. When nuclear war erupts on the surface between America and Russia, both countries contact their respective astronauts on board with a new mission…to take control of the I.S.S. by any means necessary. Three American astronauts (Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, and John Gallagher Jr.) versus three Russian cosmonauts (Pilou Asbæk, Costa Ronin, and Maria Mashkova), in an increasingly paranoia driven thriller of mistaken intentions, murder and chaos aboard the claustrophobic station. The premise of this film is excellent, its prime elevator pitch material (not in a derogatory sense) that audiences can so clearly see the potential flowing from it. If only the script could live up to that potential.

The film starts quite strongly as astronaut Dr. Kira Foster (DeBose) joins the I.S.S. for the very first time. It’s an effective screenwriting tool to have the protagonist be the “newbie” as they act as an audience surrogate and it allows the other 5 members to introduce themselves as well as introduces the station and its many intricacies. On a routine inspection outside of the port window, Foster notices bright spots erupting on the surface of Earth as shock begins to set in amongst the crew as to what’s actually going on. Soon after, both sides are given secret orders before the ensuing shockwave disrupts their communications and orbit, risking to slowly pull the station into the atmosphere if things aren’t fixed in time. Now, a group effort is required from two sides who are now increasingly distrustful and paranoid of the other.

As mentioned, this all makes for an excellent premise for a thriller but the escalation of events and how the rival astronauts’ paranoia is displayed makes little logical sense. After an excellent first act that slowly places the pieces on the chess board with an increasingly taut atmosphere, the film immediately throws audiences into the deep end. The idea may have been to start with a bang to hook in audiences but it only serves to kill any lingering tension or interest. Once the thrills are cranked to 11…there’s nowhere left to go for the remaining hour which severely hampers any nuance or depth this film could have afforded its characters. Additionally, being an astronaut demands logical thinking yet everyone here is a highly irrational and volatile emotional mess. For characters who have seemingly known each other for quite some time, they have little hesitation to fulfill their deadly orders making them feel deeply one dimensional with no interior struggle. This is a real shame as this could’ve been a slowly creeping paranoia thriller, of distrust forming over time pushing our astronauts to the brink of sanity and reason. Disliking viewing films through the prism of what they aren’t vs what they are, the way this story is executed fails the setup and glimpses of a stronger thriller are peppered throughout, making for a frustrating viewing experience.

Meanwhile, the filmmaking on display is quite effective with some truly edge-of-your-seat tension filled sequences, greatly boosted by Anne Nikitin’s excellent score. Music bubbles and pops to heartbeats and breaths on screen, mirroring the action as we watch it unfold. Cowperthwaite’s direction and shot composition makes great use of its inherently limited space to keep things visually interesting throughout while maintaining a sense of claustrophobia. Constant cuts to the black and white fuzzy security footage interspersed lends a sense of reality, emulating the footage you’d see from actual astronauts. The VFX work is also quite impressive, maximizing the limited scale through trick photography and a nice blending of practical with CGI to achieve the effect of outer space. The performances across the board are convincing enough but are hampered by the writing which let these actors down.

In the end, I.S.S. is a frustrating sci-fi thriller whose initial set up and premise are so engrossing only for it to miss the mark the further it goes along. There are moments here as thrilling as one would hope, sadly undercut by poor writing and a total whiff of an ending which ultimately leaves the film quite underwhelming.

still courtesy of Elevation Pictures

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Alex Josevski

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