Orion – Movie Review (3/5)

ORION is a psychological sci-fi thriller with a slowburn storyline that manages to keep you hooked from start to finish. Drew Van Acker and Andrew McCarthy star in this intriguing new movie. Read our full Orion movie review here!

ORION is a genre hybrid that doesn’t involve horror, though there are some deep cuts there. The kind that could have evolved into horror, but isn’t necessary to tell this particular story. Instead, it’s an intense psychological sci-fi thriller that evolves with a slowburn pace before hitting harder.

Drew Van Acker delivers a strong performance in the lead, which makes you root for his character – even when you’re not sure if you should. The runtime is 1 hour and 36 minutes, which works well for this character-driven sci-fi thriller.

Continue reading our Orion movie review below. Find it in select US theaters from October 2, 2026.

Communication and trust

At the core of Orion is a story about communication and trust. In fact, in this world currently driven hardcore by AI slop and well-made AI creations, it’s difficult to know what’s real and what isn’t.

Suddenly, a video showing anything that seems a tiny bit amazing is accused of being AI, despite being ten or twenty years old. People have to look for the proverbial “receipts” to prove what’s real, while the non-believers have no problem believing in “alternative facts” or anyone denying what we all know is true.

It’s a weird world, indeed, and the storyline of Orion plays into that through a sci-fi plot. We meet Apollo (Drew Van Acker) as he wakes up in a strange place with severe memory loss.

The power of words

It turns out that Apollo is a linguist who has created a language without words, since words seem to have lost their meaning anyway. In that sense, the plot of Orion is much more similar to that of Arrival than Alien.

And yes, there is an alien life form in this sci-fi thriller, so Apollo’s communication skills are more important than ever. He just needs to remember who he is and what is going on.

To help him in this endeavor is a character portrayed by Andrew McCarthy. He is trying to push Apollo into remembering while being careful not to place memories that won’t be misconstrued in Apollo’s mind.

Watch Orion in select theaters now or on digital soon

Jaco Bouwer is the director of Orion. If you’re a fan of sci-fi movies like Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016) or the more recent The Astronaut (2025), then you should enjoy this one as well. With its character-driven slowburn plot, I was hooked.

The screenplay comes from Anne Vithayathil, and I’m excited to see what comes next from this screenwriter. To me, the core concept of the plot was very intriguing, and the characters selling the story to me also worked. Overall, this is a very well-rounded production that hits its mark.

Alongside Andrew McCarthy and Drew Van Acker, we also have Debby Ryan (Horse Girl), Theodora Miranne (Gemini Man), and Natalia Lesz in the cast. If you’re intrigued by the bigger picture when it comes to human communication with extraterrestrial beings, then Orion is a must-watch.

ORION is out in select US theaters on October 2, 2026. Also, it will be released digitally in November.

Details

Director: Jaco Bouwer
Screenwriter: Anne Vithayathil
Cast: Andrew McCarthy, Drew Van Acker, Debby Ryan, Theodora Miranne, Natalia Lesz