Captive State (2019)

Setting: it’s 2027 and aliens control a dystopian planet. Humans are slaves and disobeying orders (like being out past curfew) results in being vaporised. There’s an underground resistance group hoping to take back earth and it’s seemingly being led by young hero Gabriel (Ashton Sanders, Teen Chiron in Moonlight) even though he claims to be “just trying to stay alive and follow rules”.

This isn’t the first alien-control movie (think 2005’s War Of The Worlds and 2018’s Alien Overlords) and you’ll see through some of the plot holes. What will win you over are the performances by Ashton and John Goodman as Gabriel’s Chicago Police frenemy William Mulligan. We’re so used to John in loveable dad roles (like The Conners) that we forget how good he is at being evil.

There is a twist that “expert sci-fi thriller fans” will see coming, but it’s still a decent stream, writes Jack Giroux at thrillist.com: “The film, directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes), defies expectations subtly, never beating audiences over the head with the way it subverts genre stereotypes. Even the shocking moments come with nuance.”