A Netflix Original from 2016, Spectral is a sci-fi military action film directed by Nic Mathieu. Its premise is simple, but deadly.
A soldier deployed in Moldova wears special goggles that eventually pick up on a shifty, shadowy being. But before he can take cover, this ghost passes through him, killing the soldier instantly.
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Inventor Mark Clyne is brought to the front lines to determine whether that shimmering presence documented by the googles was just interference, a trick of the light, or something more sinister.
The genius of Spectral is in how it lives between genres, as both a science movie and a science-fiction thriller, an action thriller and a gritty military flick, a cautionary tale and a straightforward monster movie.
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Though it visually falls in line with other Netflix releases, the ambition behind the ideas it explores, specifically those in line with the “science” side of the film’s science-fiction, actually pays off.
At no point is the technology in Spectral unbelievable. Even when the source of the specters is revealed, their origins feel reasonable within the film’s nightmarish near-future.
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“We wanted Spectral to operate on two levels: as an action movie about a unique antagonist that just seems impossible to kill, and as a story about science itself”
Spectral is a movie about the ways we think about war, death, and the ethics of technological advancement. It’s also a genuinely great monster movie and an impressively well-made military thriller.