‘Descendent’ Trailer Unveils Paranoid Sci-Fi Thriller About Alien Abduction and an Expecting Couple

An eerie alien encounter threatens to unravel the mind of an expecting father in the haunting new trailer for Descendent, the upcoming sci-fi psychological thriller from RLJE Films.

Produced by genre duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless, Spring, Something in the Dirt), Descendent will hit select theaters on August 8 before expanding nationwide and landing on VOD August 15.

Set in present-day Los Angeles, Descendent centers on Sean Bruner, a school security guard plagued by suppressed childhood trauma. With his first child on the way, Sean’s world begins to unravel after a strange beam of light appears in the sky during a night shift. He wakes up in a hospital—confused, disoriented, and suddenly able to draw disturbingly detailed visions of aliens and desert landscapes he’s never seen. As his hallucinations intensify, the line between nightmare and reality dissolves, threatening to tear his family apart.

Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead) stars as Sean, with Sarah Bolger (The Lazarus Effect, A Good Woman is Hard to Find) playing his wife, Andrea.

The film marks the feature directorial debut of Peter Cilella, known to horror fans for his lead role in The Endless. Speaking about the film, Cilella called Descendent “a labor of love,” adding:

“It truly takes a village to bring a project like this to life, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make it possible.”

Drawing eerie comparisons to Fire in the Sky, Descendent promises a slow-burn blend of sci-fi, trauma, and cosmic dread that’s perfect for fans of grounded psychological horror.

Watch the official trailer above—and prepare to question what’s real when Descendent invades theaters this August.