Captive State

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2:22

Captive State

PG-13

Released Mar 15, 2019

1h 49m

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

42%

Tomatometer

79 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

After 10 years of extraterrestrial occupation, residents of Chicago must decide whether to continue to live under alien rule or support the resistance. When young Gabriel Drummond joins the insurgency, he soon finds himself under careful scrutiny from a shadowy figure who's trying to crush the rebellion and its plans for freedom.

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Critics Consensus

This sci-fi thriller may not necessarily leave viewers in a Captive State, but it offers reasonably diverting alien invasion action with ambitious political undertones.

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Dmitry Samarov

Chicago Reader

Whether our streets are under assault by alien insects or craven speculators, if a filmmaker shows the places we know and love, we will care about the story's fate, no matter how far-fetched.

Mar 28, 2019

Full Review

Matthew Monagle

Austin Chronicle

At its best, Captive State blends imaginative science-fiction with the caliber of detail-oriented espionage you might find in an Alan J. Pakula film.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 21, 2019

Full Review

Leah Pickett

Chicago Reader

Overall it's a mess, compounded by murky CGI and some unrealistic performances.

Mar 16, 2019

Full Review

Nyle Coleman

InSession Film

This new take on alien invasion took a moment for me to accept but in the end, Captive State is a brilliant film.

Rated: B

May 2, 2024

Full Review

Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews

One of those movies that come out every year showing tremendous potential, an innovative and intriguing premise, but in the end, it just isn’t able to succeed.

Rated: C-

Jul 24, 2023

Full Review

Josh Parham

Next Best Picture

The world building provided could have been stronger, but it’s enough of a foundation to be informative and interesting.

Rated: 5/10

Jun 4, 2022

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Mark R

I want to thank all critics & audience members who went against the majority & recommended this movie. As a sci-fi, action thriller with a resistance theme to the "invaders/occupiers", this was about as good as I have ever seen. I'm so glad to have stumbled on the 40% or so of reviews that said similar things. Well worth the watch...just have to stick with it through the first 40 minutes, and then it all starts to make more & more sense. Well done!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

Full Review

Chantal C

This is an astonishingly underrated movie. The acting was incredible, and as someone who has watched countless hours of SciFy, I'm hard to please. They had such a griping view of alien invasion, human responses (as there will always be collaborators and those who would fight for freedom), and then the end? When Gabriel looks at that final video? The way it ends with Goodman and his looking directly at the camera with resolve, I couldn't look away.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/27/25

Full Review

Jonathan P

Excellent. Thankfully I watched the film to make up my own mind instead of following the shallow reviews on here.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

Full Review

Webb V

Near perfect Sci-Fi. A thread of confusion runs through from start to end. No questions are actually answered but a complete story is told. In a world filled with uncertainity. This is movie is comforting.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/25

Full Review

Rod's R

Like many other I found the plot plodding and opaque. Got a quarter way through and gave up waiting for something recognisable as a way in to enjoy the movie. No wonder it bombed.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Maybe too much plot for what SiFi viewers expect, but its worth it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/25

Full Review

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Rupert Wyatt

Director

John Goodman

William Mulligan

Ashton Sanders

Gabriel Drummond

Jonathan Majors

Rafe Drummond

Vera Farmiga

Jane Doe

Kevin Dunn

Commissioner Eugene Igoe

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Captive State: Trailer 1

2:22

Captive State: Teaser Trailer 2

1:25

Captive State: Teaser Trailer 1

1:28

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Synopsis

After 10 years of extraterrestrial occupation, residents of Chicago must decide whether to continue to live under alien rule or support the resistance. When young Gabriel Drummond joins the insurgency, he soon finds himself under careful scrutiny from a shadowy figure who's trying to crush the rebellion and its plans for freedom.

Director: Rupert Wyatt
Producer: David Crockett, Rupert Wyatt
Screenwriter: Erica Beeney, Rupert Wyatt
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Participant Media, Lightfuse & Gettaway
Rating: PG-13 (Drug Material|Brief Language|Sci-Fi Violence and Action|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 2019, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 11, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.9M
Runtime: 1h 49m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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