WATCH: Gay romance & alien encounters are pit stops in this wild one-of-a kind road trip movie
Roadtrip movies may be a dime a dozen, but we guarantee you’ve never seen one like Unidentified Objects.
Matthew Jeffers (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) stars as Peter, a self-described “college-educated, homosexual dwarf” who spends most of his time pent up in his low-rent New York City apartment.
But one day the world comes barging in when chatty neighbor Winona (Black Swan‘s Sarah Hay)—chaos personified—shows up asking for some help: She needs to borrow a car to take an impromptu trip to Canada.
Even though the two don’t know each other, there’s money on the table, so Peter reluctantly agrees as long as he comes along, stepping outside of his comfort zone for the first time in a long time.
Why, though, does Winona so desperately need to get to the Canadian wilderness? Well, she’s trying to get to the site of what she believes to be an impending alien visitation, obviously!
As strange as the destination may be, their journey’s about to become even stranger. Like some of the best roadtrips, Unidentified Objects is a wild odyssey of random pit stops, mysterious hitchhikers, and unexpected encounters, alien or otherwise.
As the official synopsis goes, Peter and Winona’s trip finds them coming across “bickering lesbian cosplayers, shroom-addled survivalists, and even extraterrestrial highway cops.”
But beyond all the eccentricities, Unidentified Objects sends its characters on a deeper journey of compassion, tackling issues of mental health and identity along the way, with both Jeffers and Hay delivering astounding breakout performances.
First-time feature director Juan Felipe Zuleta (who has also made music videos for the likes of Maluma and Nicki Minaj) makes a strong debut, creating an eye-catching, vividly realized narrative that feels both otherworldly yet grounded in relatable human emotion.
The film made its US premiere last summer at L.A.’s premier LGBTQ+ film festival, Outfest, where it was among our 10 must-see titles. Next, it will open New York City’s 15th Annual ReelAbilities Film Festival on April 27 before hitting select theaters on June 2 and VOD platforms on June 9.
Check out the new trailer for Unidentified Objects below:
