When Protection Becomes a Promise

Read Time:5 Minute, 11 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Xeno
–

Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Family
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director(s): Matthew Loren Oates
Writer(s): Matthew Loren Oates
Cast: Lulu Wilson, Omari Hardwick, Wrenn Schmidt, Paul Schneider, Trae Romano, Josh Cooke
Where to Watch: in theaters Nationwide September 19, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: Now and then, a film comes along that isn’t defined by its creature design, its chase sequences, or even its premise, but instead by the performance at its center. XENO is one of those films. For all its polish and high-concept pitch, what ultimately makes the movie land is Lulu Wilson. She anchors the story with a performance that radiates both heart and grit, carrying every scene with a natural presence.

The premise is straightforward, designed for accessibility: a teenage outsider encounters a strange alien in the desert and decides to protect it while government forces close in. It’s a familiar setup, a blend of E.T.-style bonding and modern chase-thriller tension, dressed up with fresh creature work from the Jim Henson Company’s Creature Shop. On paper, it’s a movie that could have leaned heavily on spectacle or leaned too hard into sentiment. Instead, director Matthew Loren Oates takes a middle path, grounding the extraordinary in the perspective of one determined teenager.

That perspective belongs to Wilson, and it’s no exaggeration to say she makes the film worth watching on her own. She possesses an expressive stillness that conveys decision-making in real-time. You can watch her think, hesitate, and commit, and those small calibrations keep the story human even when the plot veers toward the cosmic. Wilson makes the character of Renee stubbornly believable, choosing empathy where others would choose fear, holding her ground where most would turn away.

There is, however, an unavoidable layer of recognition. Wilson’s most iconic past role casts a long shadow, and it’s nearly impossible not to see flashes of that character in her delivery, her posture, even her defiance. That familiarity colors XENO in ways the film never quite escapes. At times, it works to the movie’s advantage, lending an instant credibility to her toughness. At other times, it makes certain beats feel like déjà vu rather than discoveries. It’s not a flaw in Wilson’s work—she’s excellent here—but it does shape the viewing experience, making Renee feel less like an entirely new creation and more like an echo with a different set of circumstances.

The alien itself presents another kind of contradiction. Crafted with the practical artistry of the Creature Shop, it possesses texture and presence within the frame, a weight that digital-only designs rarely achieve. And yet, the film withholds enough of its form that it never quite becomes a character in its own right. We often see it, but rarely long enough or consistently enough to form the kind of emotional attachment the story insists upon. Instead, it remains an amorphous shape, a collection of glimpses and gestures that suggest more than they reveal.

This design choice is both intentional and frustrating. By refusing to grant us a clear, extended view, the movie sustains an air of mystery, keeping the creature otherworldly and unpredictable. That works on the level of suspense, but it robs the film of some of its emotional payoff. The heart of the story is supposed to be the bond between Renee and the alien, yet the connection is carried almost entirely by Wilson’s conviction rather than by what we’re allowed to see of her friend. The result is a lopsided relationship: powerful in concept, yet weaker in execution, as perceived by her.

The score and sound design play with restraint. Instead of overbearing crescendos, the music punctuates shifts in trust and danger, underscoring the human decisions more than the extraterrestrial spectacle. That restraint is emblematic of the film’s approach as a whole: it isn’t trying to overwhelm you with noise but to keep you in step with its characters.

XENO, then, is both heartfelt and slightly unfinished. It has real power in its central performance, a strong sense of place, and a narrative that knows how to build momentum without losing sight of intimacy. But its core is held back by the very design choices meant to preserve mystery. The alien remains too elusive, too indistinct, to give the connection its full weight. That doesn’t undo the film’s strengths, but it does leave you wishing for a moment of clarity that never quite arrives. Still, when the credits roll (make sure to stick through them), the image that stays isn’t of an alien shape in the desert. It’s of Lulu Wilson, steady and unflinching, carrying the story’s heart across a hot horizon. That’s the measure of the film’s success: even when its creature slips through your grasp, its star does not.

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