Fantastic Fest 2026 Review: Sam Richardson Stars in Cosmic Rom-Com ‘Into the Sky’

Writing duo Drew Mylrea and Evan Wolf Buxbaum (Small Town, Big Story) make their feature directorial debut at Fantastic Fest with Into the Sky, a sci-fi comedy thriller about an ordinary man determined to repair his complicated relationship with his wife, but he can’t seem to fix things because he’s the victim of multiple extraterrestrial kidnappings. Now that’s one hell of a premise.

When the film begins, we find Bobby (The Afterparty’s Sam Richardson) unconscious, lying face down on a North Carolina golf course in broad daylight, sans clothes, and covered in blue goo. Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time he’s been abducted and come-to in a strange place, never remembering anything that happened or what was done to him. 

Back home in upstate New York, Bobby discovers that his estranged wife, Brittany (Fiona Rene), has rented out their house to Nico (Sofia Black-D’Elia), a young woman in the midst of planning her brother Chance’s (Jonathan Rudnitsky) wedding. The two get off to a rocky start with their chaotic meet-cute, but once they get to know each other better, they realize they can help the other out: Nico will aid Bobby in reconnecting with his wife, while he assists her with the big event. Of course, their partnership grows into something else. 

The next time Bobby wakes up naked, slimy, and dazed, he meets Jaden (David Cross), another frequent abductee who has conspiracy theorist energy. Jaden is actively trying to figure out why aliens keep coming for them because it has effectively ruined his life. But Bobby only cares about finding his wife and keeping these bizarre incidents to himself, and Jaden’s unwanted presence only makes that harder. 

The hectic start to Into the Sky immediately gets you invested in Bobby and what he’s experiencing, especially when it comes to his reaction to this phenomenon. He’s obviously scared when he wakes up and frustrated as he makes his way back home. But he’s not as frantic as one would expect after being repeatedly pulled up into the sky and discarded with no memory. Then again, this has been happening for a year, so it’s likely the true shock and terror has worn off, and now it’s just annoying. He’s also trying to appear sane for his wife.

Richardson is an exceptional leading man, always hilarious no matter if he’s playing the the foil or the funny man. In this film, his character is a bit of both. Bobby is a regular guy just trying to have a normal life, but he’s also been abducted by aliens for the past year and often ends up poorly explaining his brief absences. Unlike Jaden, he doesn’t go around telling people about this unexplained aspect of his life. 

While Bobby deals with this massive, life-altering inconvenience, Nico tries to survive being around her eccentric family. Her mother, Annette (Maddie Corman), is overbearing and inappropriate and humorous in her line delivery. Chance is quite the groomzilla, constantly on his sister’s back about making sure everything is perfect, especially those centerpieces. His wife-to-be, Genevieve (Annabel O’Hagan), is no better. She’s just as demanding and insulting, except she’s a little more restrained in her fury. She doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but O’Hagan makes her few scenes count, bringing some of Fallout’s formidable Stephanie to the table, though much less sinister.

Although this is partly science fiction, Mylrea and Buxbaum keep the story grounded in reality. I can see some audiences being unsatisfied with the lack of traditional alien/outer space tropes and imagery. There’s no blue sky beam or epic battle with laser guns. They kept the abduction scenes subtle, mostly lights flickering and items (and people) levitating. It’s really the build-up that makes these scenes so effective, particularly Bobby’s “oh-no-not-again” dread. When they do go big with the special effects, it’s all the more impressive. 

Other thriller aspects of the film include cinematographer Matt Clegg’s (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead) eerie shots of the sky. Bobby may only see clouds, but he knows there’s probably something up there watching his every move. One of the things that surprised me was the mild to moderate body horror throughout the film. In his effort to understand what’s going on, Jaden conducts a few experiments; the kind that leave him (and others) with incision scars. It’s all darkly funny and sometimes painful to watch.

Into the Sky is a fun, seamless blend of science fiction, comedy, and romance that subverts expectations. The premise alone is hilarious, and the ensemble cast really delivers on the humor, especially Sam Richardson. It’s kind of like the comedy of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets the subdued sci-fi elements of Nope. The directing duo described the film as an “indie blockbuster,” and that’s exactly what it feels like watching it. 

Into the Sky has its World Premiere on September 18 at Fantastic Fest 2026.

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