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To fully begin this review the correct way, I must go backwards in time to the year 2005 when a certain young up and coming filmmaker came onto my radar. The filmmaker is William Kaufman and the movie in question was called The Prodigy starring indie actor Holt Boggs. Though rough around the edges, the movie spoke to me and with what Kaufman was able to do with limited resources was nothing short of miraculous and the movie has been a staple in my video collection arsenal ever since. Throughout the years, Kaufman has made a name for himself as one of the most prolific filmmakers in indie action cinema with such well deserving entries into the genre like Sinners and Saints, The Marine 4: Moving Target, One in the Chamber, Jarhead 3: The Siege and the list goes on and on. Kaufman’s ability to convey practical action and stunt work with precision tactical action and rich, dramatic storytelling is tremendous and his fan base is a rabid one who eagerly awaits to see what he will do next.
Well, that day has come and with it we have the release of Kaufman’s blistering sci-fi actioner Osiris which sees his The Channel star Max Martini (Lioness, The Unit) headlining as Kelly, the stalwart leader of a bad ass contingent of elite military operators. His unit is tier one, and it consists of Martini’s Lioness co-star LaMonica Garrett as his right-hand man Rhodie, Michael Irby (who also starred with Martini on The Unit) as Reyes, Jaren Mitchell as Jax, David B. Meadows as Gibbs and a scene stealing Linds Edwards as sniper Nash. These men are the best of the best of the best and to convey that, Kaufman drops his audience right into the heat of warfare from the get go as the unit is on a covert mission that turns into Blackhawk Down when they are immediately surrounded by insurgents.
The opening salvo is a breathtaking and ferociously kinetic assault on the senses with the cast deploying their tactical skills in a sequence that rivals anything you have seen in 13 Hours (which also featured Martini) or most recently, the Oscar caliber movie Warfare. Kaufman is essentially an action maestro when it comes this type of action and his years of experience doing it has honed and sharpened his technique to now give us one of the best opening action scenes of the year. Normally, you will get a brief two or three minute scene that is over before it begins but Kaufman knows we want more than that, so he delivers a twelve minute barrage of hyper-fierce battle action which even includes Martini showcasing some John Wick style Gun Fu. To put it simply, Kaufman’s initial intro set piece is worthy enough to be the finale in lesser action movies. It’s that damn good.
In the midst of combat and with Kelly about to call danger close on his men, something inexplicable happens as something comes out of nowhere in the skies and in a flash of light and noise, Kelly and his men are abducted by a savage alien race. I mean you had with the twelve-minute assault of carnage but now we have aliens that are just as tactically efficient as the humans they captured. I’m serious when I say that these aliens are some of the most horrifying and awesome creatures to be seen in a movie like this in a long while. This is equal to anything you will see in a bigger budget pic and in some ways, it surpasses other bigger blockbusters.
Upon waking up in the ship, Kelly and crew have no memory of how they got there but they do now possess weird intel about who has captured them which we find out is by design. After going hot with the aliens, the team stumbles upon another captive named Ravi (Brianna Hildebrand of the Deadpool films) who has been there much longer than they have, and she knows things that will help them survive. One thing we do learn is that they are essentially livestock and meant to be a feast for the aliens which doesn’t sit well with the combat trained warriors.
What transpires is a relentless run and gun scenario where Kelly, his men and Ravi must evade capture while trying to figure out how to eliminate their enemy with some extreme prejudice. We are also introduced to another mystery prisoner later on named Anya who is played by genre icon Linda Hamilton (The Terminator films) who makes the most of her time on screen and rocks one hell of a Russian accent. Hamilton is such a legend that as soon as she enters the film, it immediately heightens the gravitas and legitimacy of the film not that it needed any more. Casting Hamilton in a role like this was a slam dunk and she is certainly channeling her iconic character of Sarah Connor with a European accent.
With Osiris, Kaufman has made his chef’s kiss to the types of movies that he has made in the past and he seemly blends genres with ease making this a proper homage to classic pics like Aliens and the aforementioned Predator that also infused horror and science fiction with stripped down, pulse pounding action. Kaufman is normally known for more grounded and gritty crime-thrillers so seeing this from him is inviting indeed. It’s important to note that Kaufman also co-wrote Osiris along with Paul Reichelt and the two have created a world building scenario that begs to be poked and prodded in hopeful future sequels. This film only peels off the first layer of something so much more and I am on the bandwagon to continue this ride should it continue. There are no spoilers here as I want you to fully experience all this film has to offer but the last scene is a revelation that harkens back to another iconic sci-fi film from the 60’s. The last shot alone had me screaming “damn you all to hell!” and that’s all I’ll say.
Now when making a movie about ruthless aliens, the film is only as good as how scary and terrifying the creatures are and here, I can firmly put your fears to rest and say that these are some of the most bad ass and ferocious aliens I have seen in a long time. One of the things I loved about The Tomorrow War with Chris Pratt, besides the action, was that the creatures were extremely savage and nightmare inducing and here it’s even better as these E.T.’s are tactically efficient just like Kelly and his crew leading to a relentless onslaught of military style firefights throughout the film. These aliens are legit and scary as hell.
This is a sci-fi dripping flick as well and with that there is an abundance of special effects and CGI, but limited resources, Kaufman and crew have crafted a visual feast for the eyes that is every bit as good as what you will see in a Disney Star Wars film. I man that too. While watching it, I was amazed at how it all looked from a visual perspective and you’d be hard pressed to find something better with a film that had a higher budget, shooting time and resources. I hear that they had around three weeks to shoot the film and that right there speaks volumes of the talent involved and the blood, sweat and tears they all put into this labor of bullet drenched love.
The action design and stunt work on display here is a thing of bloody beauty and each sequence of testosterone is more frenetic than the last with sensational sound and effects to heighten the visuals of the brutal violence on display. The choreography is sweat inducing, and the camerawork captures it all with a perfect merging of fast cuts and wide shots making it easy to see all the wonderful chaos onscreen. The weaponry, especially the alien guns, are perfect and when the tracer fire hits, you will be holding onto your chair for dear life. My only complaint, and it’s one that I make a lot unfortunately, is that Osiris deserves to be seen on the biggest screen there is with a deafening sound system. The movie is getting a select theatrical release and if you’re one of the lucky ones that has it playing near you, go immediately. You’re welcome.
To sum it up, Osiris is a top contender for best action film of the year. It’s the perfect example of when you do the action practically, it serves up a more memorable experience. Sure, there are visual effects, and they are sensational, but the stunts and carnage are exactly how they should be and that’s practical with good old honest death-defying stunt work and action design. The cast, led by Martini and Hamilton, all hit the bullseye and with all the chaos involved, Kaufman still gives you enough time with all of them to make you care about them.
The aliens are something out of a fever dream and are just as tactically bad ass as the good guys but also reek of fear and merciless energy. This film only works if the creatures do their job and incite fear and dread and its mission accomplished here. I always thought that the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise was the scariest, but these things tell them to hold their beer. Their fast, strong and brutal and the animatronic effects are a standout and reflect how it was done back in the day and is a nice homage to the creators of yesteryear.
Osiris is a near perfect blend of sci-fi spectacle and brutal, tactically efficient action design that immerses the viewer in a trip to heel for 107 minutes. I just hope that this film finds its intended audience so we get to see what will transpire next for this world gone wrong.
VERDICT: 4.5 Out of 5 Stars
In a summer movie environment filled with grand scale comic book films, William Kaufman has delivered a savage, fiercely executed sci-fi actioner that immerses the audience in an unforgiving and bloody alien war! A legit top contender for best action film of 2025!
