Midnight Special (2016)

Midnight Special is a tense, quietly strange sci‑fi drama about a father and his young son on the run from two relentless forces: a fanatical cult that reveres the boy and a suspicious branch of the U.S. government determined to understand his extraordinary abilities. Alton is no ordinary child—he has powerful, baffling gifts and unusual vulnerabilities—and when his father Roy spirit him away in the dead of night the chase becomes urgent, dangerous, and personal. As federal agent Paul Sevier closes in, father and son race toward a prophetic deadline that promises to upend what everyone thinks they know. Watching Midnight Special, you’ll experience a slow‑building tension more driven by mood and character than by non‑stop action. The film balances intimate, emotional moments between Roy and Alton with moments of creeping dread and cosmic mystery: hushed road scenes, quiet desperation, sudden flashes of the boy’s power, and the mounting questions of the adults who can’t explain him. The result is part road‑movie, part thriller and part spiritual fable—atmospheric, melancholy, and occasionally breathtaking. If you like thoughtful sci‑fi that favors feeling and implication over tidy answers, this movie delivers an evocative mix of suspense, wonder, and emotional core. Expect to be kept guessing about the nature of Alton’s abilities while being moved by the fierce bond that drives the flight—and to leave with a lingering sense of awe and unease rather than neatly resolved conclusions.

Actors: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst

Director: Jeff Nichols

Runtime: 112 min

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

5.8 /10 76 /100 6.6 /10 6.7 /10