#^Watch the Skies – Exclusive Review and Interview: A Bold Sci-Fi Adventure Rooted in 80s HeartThere’s something incredibly sincere about Watch the Skies, the latest feature from the Swedish filmmaking collective Crazy Pictures. It manages to provide a love letter to family science fiction blockbusters of the 80s and 90s, while still brimming with originality. The movie is notable for providing a blueprint for using AI technology in an ethical way, to make the film globally accessible.
We spoke to the makers of the movie, as well as Flawless AI’s founder and director, Scott Man,n about the international release.
The Plot
Set in 1990s Sweden and steeped in both small-town nostalgia and speculative mystery,
Watch the Skies follows a rebellious teenage girl, Denise, who becomes convinced that her missing father wasn’t just a deadbeat – he was abducted by aliens.
With very few people willing to engage in her theory, her investigation leads her into the basement headquarters of UFO-Sverige (UFO Sweden), an organisation dedicated to cataloging and investigating
UFO sightings. This unlikely group of oddball investigators become her allies in a journey that quickly morphs from a personal quest into a fun and high-stakes adventure.
Credit: Crazy Pictures
At first glance, the premise sounds familiar: A teen outsider searches for a lost parent and uncovers a bigger truth. But Crazy Pictures gives it a distinctive twist. The film mixes 90s-era suburban sci-fi vibes (think E.T. or The Goonies) with a distinctly European tone. There are specific nods and references to film and culture in a way we see in television shows like Stranger Things, harking back to a golden age for cinema.
In our interview, director Victor Danell shared more about the inspiration behind the movie:
“We have grown up in the late eighties and in the nineties, and have been watching Steven Spielberg and James Cameron and movies like that,” he explained.
“That’s our training data,” Danell quipped, sticking with the AI theme. “It’s already there in every movie we make. That’s our filmmaking base, and this movie has led us to put it out on the screen. We love those kinds of movies. So this was like a dream come true, making a movie inspired by those movies.”
There’s an unmistakable warmth to the way the story unfolds that feels like family classic movies of years gone by, never losing sight of the characters’ humanity even as the stakes escalate toward the cosmic. There’s also plenty of light relief within the movie, executed perfectly.
The heart of Watch the Skies is its deep respect for the curious. The ones who chase signals in the night sky with nothing more than belief and persistence.
Crazy Pictures spoke about discovering the real-life UFO-Sverige in 2018 and being inspired by their commitment to uncovering the truth, even with no funding or official recognition. That fascination with everyday people chasing extraordinary questions pulses through every frame of the film.
Rather than portraying the UFO hunters as comic relief or conspiracy cranks, the film gives them dignity. They’re misfits, sure, but they’re also dedicated and sincere. Their methods are analog, their data stored in rickety filing cabinets, and yet they’re chasing the same grand mysteries as NASA. It’s an affectionate tribute to a kind of grassroots investigation that rarely gets the spotlight.
Producer Albin Pettersson explained the need to keep the film authentically Swedish, while giving it an audience all over the world:
“I think that’s the thing with this kind of technique. Now that we can keep the Swedishness of the movie and make that travel around the world. But you will be more engaged because you understand what they are saying.”
“We have the Swedish dialect from the actors, but we also have kept most of the all the Swedish references. So we kind of use the real Swedish towns and those kinds of things that make it feel more authentic.”
TrueSync Technology – Watch The Skies Uses Tech Breakthrough
Another remarkable element is the film’s use of Flawless’s groundbreaking TrueSync dubbing technology. Watch the Skies will be the world’s first theatrically released movie to use AI-assisted immersive dubbing that preserves the actor’s original performances while syncing perfectly to English dialogue.
The founder, Scott Mann, is a director himself, having helmed movies including Final Score and Heist, and talked me through how this technology works.
“I came across this technology as a science paper,” he explained, “A leading paper called Video Portraits, back in 2017/18, that opened my eyes to the technology we would now call kind of generative rendering generative AI.”
“There are two ways the technology can be used. It can be used unethically and destructively where it’s destroying creatives and replacing creatives. Or, it can be used as creative tools for artists. And that’s been our pursuit from day one.”
“The technology as a tool gets me as a filmmaker so excited because it creates freedoms. Films are such compromises right? And we compromise so much during the filmmaking process, because it’s so hard, it’s so expensive, it’s so heavy. And anything that kind of helps you along there is tremendously liberating.”
Mann was also positive about how AI could give filmmakers an arsenal of tools:
“I think there are similar technologies we’ve been utlising in film production as well where you were able to kind of do more with a single performance. The stuff that you could only ever do on set, you can start to do offset and there’s really interesting applications, but all driven from again the ethical way.”
The result, as far as Watch the Skies goes, is an international release that doesn’t suffer from the usual dissonance of dubbed films. It’s a technological leap forward and might just mark a turning point for how foreign-language films reach global audiences.
Is it perfect? It is hard to say. Once you know that the technology is in place, it is hard not to over analyse it. Before I watched the movie, I watched some clips, and I was trying to scrutinise the mouth movement. I’m no expert, and overthinking made me doubt my own judgement…However, when I watched the movie itself, I stopped thinking about mouth movements within about 20 seconds, and surely this proves the point that the limitations and downsides of overdubbing have been eradicated by the technology…
Performances Grounded in Emotion
Leading the cast is Inez Dahl Torhaug, who delivers a standout performance as Denise. She’s sharp and headstrong, someone whose rebellion is fueled less by teen angst and more by the aching absence of a parent. Torhaug balances toughness with vulnerability, and her arc gives the film its emotional weight.
Jesper Barkselius also deserves mention for his role as one of the senior members of UFO-Sverige. His character is layered and brings both humor and pathos to a role that could have easily been reduced to stereotype. The supporting cast rounds out the ensemble beautifully, bringing a real sense of community and camaraderie to the table. A special nod to Isabelle Kyed, who gave me multiple laugh-out-loud moments.
Spectacle with a Human Scale
Technically, Watch the Skies punches well above its weight. Crazy Pictures, known for their YouTube roots and visually inventive shorts, have crafted a visually impressive film without the blockbuster budget. The cinematography is striking and especially in capturing the eerie vastness of the Swedish countryside, a setting that can feel either haunting or homey.
Director Victor Danell, one of the five members of Crazy Pictures, shows remarkable command of pacing and tone. He keeps the film moving briskly without rushing, allowing quieter moments to breathe while still delivering tense, edge-of-your-seat sequences when needed.
The pacing of the movie feels like a proper old-school blockbuster, an E.T. or an 80s cinema release that everybody needs to see.
Not Just for Sci-Fi Fans
While the film leans into science fiction themes in terms of government secrets, and cosmic possibilities, it never gets bogged down in techno-babble or alien spectacle. Instead, Watch the Skies keeps its focus on the human experience.
In that way, the film feels more like a coming-of-age drama dressed in sci-fi clothing. And that’s what makes it so compelling. You don’t need to be a UFO enthusiast or sci-fi diehard to enjoy it. What you need is a willingness to follow a group of ordinary people who believe in something extraordinary.
Crazy Pictures have already proven they’re capable of big ideas and bold storytelling with their first feature, The Unthinkable. But Watch the Skies feels more personal, more honed, and more emotionally resonant. It’s a story about discovery, not destruction. It celebrates curiosity and conviction in a way that few modern films dare to do, while retaining all of its originality.
With international distribution already locked in for over 100 countries and a visually dubbed English release on the horizon, the film stands poised to reach a wide audience. And it deserves to. It offers both a throwback to the heart-driven sci-fi of the 80s and 90s and a glimpse at the innovative future of global cinema.
Watch the Skies is unashamed of being a throwback. It’s the kind of movie that invites its audience to wonder, to hope, and maybe even to believe. Anchored by a standout lead performance, backed by an inventive and heartfelt script, and executed with creative flair, it’s a testament to the power of small teams with big dreams.
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