The Infinite Husk follows Vel (Peace Ikediuba), an alien consciousness exiled from her home and forced to live on Earth. Unhappy and desperately trying to make it back home, she accepts an impossible mission of spying on her own kind and trying to decipher a mysterious coded language. She must befriend Mauro (Circus-Szalewski) and learn what he is researching then report her findings in hopes of being allowed home. Vel finds this to be a challenge as she must embrace being in a physical body and learn what it means to be human in the rugged city of LA.
Through a series of encounters, she is exposed to what it is like to be the vessel in which she was placed into: a Black woman. From being aggressively hit on in a bar to being racially profiled in a convenience store, she finds herself fairly confused as to how she is attracting this kind of attention. It is through this sort of innocence that we see how oblivious the alien within her is to what humans deal with, specifically with being a female and person of color.
Director Aaron Silverstein utilizes many visual components to enhance the experience of traveling through the mind of the alien consciousness, which plays out like a mushroom trip. From bright bursts of starry lights to a deep red hue that casts over certain solo scenes of Vel, the inclusion of these elements contribute to reminding the viewer that, although we are seeing a human on screen, within her mind lies something unknown. The score adds to the visuals in a way that would remind you of seeing a space documentary at your local museum’s theater.
One thing that Vel does that is also a subtle reminder that she isn’t human is her inability to put on a natural smile. Her mouth gives a pressed, tight forced smile instead, something that Mauro notices and comments on. The Infinite Husk has a unique take on alien form meshing with a human body, which makes the film enjoyable to watch as it is not predictable. The inclusion of Vel being visited by her “leader” then jumping off of a building shows how the aliens see human bodies as being disposable. Mauro has a “daughter” that he explains he keeps as a companion since the previous husk had a kid. The inclusion of the need to not be lonely also humanizes the husk as he does not enjoy being on Earth alone and thus was quite happy to have met Vel.
If you don’t follow along closely to what is unraveling on screen, then it is easy to get lost in remembering what the overall purpose of the film is. I found myself having to go back a few times to really understand what exactly Vel was looking to discover. More so, what was the entity that sent her there looking to gain from Mauro’s scientific discoveries being destroyed? While the film does lead to the mission being accomplished, the audience is brought to believe that Vel has had a change of heart and has figured out what Mauro was trying to decode.
Although we do arrive at a conclusion, the purpose for the mission was never really made clear. What was the real threat of Mauro’s work being discovered? Sure, we knew that Vel was sent to destroy it, but why? If there was some underlying hidden agenda for the viewer to decode, the film failed to make that clear. The Infinite Husk is a solid film as a whole, showcasing a different angle of what being an alien means, but that’s unfortunately all it does. It is one of those intellectual films where one might need previous knowledge of certain topics, with the deep understanding of time being the main one. If you aren’t one for projects that gnaw at your brain, then this one isn’t for you.
The Infinite Husk is a decent piece as a whole but is an acquired taste that won’t captivate everyone and truly, that’s okay. The target audience will find this to be a mind boggling journey while others may struggle to find the purpose and ultimately end up lost as the film progresses. The elements that stand out are by far the visuals and the unique concept, but without those, it lacks the ability to capture the viewer and paint the purpose of Vel being sent to Earth.
The mission is clear from the very beginning, but the intentions are not. The film doesn’t try to deep dive into aliens having a negative take on humans, something that we’ve seen far too many times. Instead, Silverstein takes a different approach and shows us being used solely as a physical form. It’s a great concept that unfortunately fell short and needed to be explored more but failed to do so. It isn’t a bad film and certainly worth the watch, but you aren’t missing anything if you skip out on seeing it.
The Infinite Husk had its premiere at this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival with a release set for March 8, 2025.