Outer Reaches – Short. Sweet. Sci-Fi Horror

Sponsored Feature: Forgotten Astronaut Productions + Mad Alice Productions

Outer Reaches is a short sci-fi horror film written and directed by Karl Redgen.

Trailer here:

Full film here:

VFX Breakdown:

Two space explorers crash-land on a desolate planet during their mission to find a new home for humanity. Their hopes unravel when they discover that the planet is inhabited by a voracious swarm of sentient microorganisms, with one explorer becoming a host for the alien agenda. As the infection spreads, the commander faces an agonizing decision: sacrifice himself to halt the menace or unleash it upon the universe.

A Q&A with writer/director Karl Redgen

Welcome, Karl! Thanks for chatting with us about your chilling new sci-fi horror, Outer Reaches. What sparked the idea for this short film?

I’d been wanting to make a movie like this for a long time. The core idea started with something simple — a ship crash-landing on a planet with a tentacled alien monster inside. Even before making this short, I had already developed the world and creature design, so the idea had been sitting there waiting for the right moment. Outer Reaches became that moment.

This is actually the first short film I’ve directed. Before this, I worked as an AD and spent a lot of time writing scripts for features and series. I felt it was finally time to take the leap and channel all those years of writing and film experience into making the most epic short I could.

Outer Reaches short sci-fi horror by Karl Redgen

Did you draw inspiration from existing space-related sci-fi horror films?

I definitely did. Alien, The Thing, Event Horizon, and even a bit of The Facility were big inspirations. I actually had a feature script I’d been working on that included the alien design, and I used that as the foundation for the creature in Outer Reaches. It gave me a head start in shaping the tone and world.

How did you approach creating the desolate planet environment and the visual effects that bring it to life?

We shot on location just south of Melbourne, where we found this incredible spot with wild plant life and a natural cliffside — it already felt like another planet. From there, the VFX team at Nipan Studio stepped in and really made the environment feel like another world. We had a clear vision of the planet during pre-production, and they brought it to life beyond expectations.

Take us through the creative process behind the creature’s hair-raising appearance.

I wanted the creature to feel unsettling — half human, half alien — as if it was in mid-assimilation. Some features still feel human, but alien traits such as the tentacles are forcing their way through. I started by casting Michael Foster, who brought a great physicality to the role. Then, I teamed up with Sharp FX, a creature effects team from Melbourne. I gave them visual references, and they really elevated it, crafting a monster that felt like it belonged to this strange world.

Some features still feel human, but alien traits such as the tentacles are forcing their way through.

What was your biggest challenge during the filmmaking process?

Time was our biggest hurdle. We only had four days of shooting — split between the location and a soundstage where we built the capsule interior. The challenge was making sure everything matched visually between the two settings, despite the tight schedule and budget. Honestly, I would have loved even just one more day to fully breathe, but the team pulled through.

Any fun highlights from the film’s festival run?

Days of the Dead in Atlanta was definitely a highlight. It was the first time I got to experience the film with a packed crowd, sit on panels, and do Q&As. I met so many awesome filmmakers, and it was just a surreal and rewarding experience seeing people respond to the film.

What lasting impression do you hope viewers will take away from Outer Reaches?

I hope audiences feel immersed in the world we’ve created. We wanted to make something bold and ambitious — a short film that felt like a slice of a much larger universe. It took a huge amount of effort from a dedicated team, and I hope that comes through. Above all, I just want audiences to feel like they’ve seen something a little different and exciting.

Learn more about Outer Reaches at forgottenastronaut.media and IMDB. Follow Forgotten Astronaut Productions on Instagram here.