Remember when movies about kids felt genuinely scary? Like Goonies, where its child heroes could be murdered by criminals? Or E.T., where the U.S. government was out to hurt an adorable extraterrestrial buddy? The stakes felt terrifyingly high and the heroes felt relatable and familiar. They could have been us. Well, this is precisely the feel of the upcoming Relativity adventure Earth to Echo, as shown in the trailer here.
Co-written by Henry Gayden and Andrew Panay, and directed by Dave Green, Earth to Echo centers on a trio of young friends whose lives are thrown into spin when they meet an alien visitor. Rather than an homage to '80s-set Amblin like J.J. Abrams' earnest but flawed Super 8, this sci-fi adventure is set in the contemporary US, and employs the popular horror-movie trope of found footage to unfold its out of this world tale.
The official plot synopsis from Yahoo reads:
After a construction project begins digging in their neighborhood, best friends Tuck, Munch and Alex inexplicably begin to receive strange, encoded messages on their cell phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they go to their parents and the authorities. When everyone around them refuses to take the messages seriously, the three embark on a secret adventure to crack the code and follow it to its source. But taking matters into their own hands gets the trio in way over their heads when they discover a mysterious being from another world who desperately needs their help. The epic, suspenseful and exciting journey that follows will change all of their lives forever.
Brian "Astro" Bradley, Reese Hartwig and Teo Halm star as Tuck, Munch and Alex. The three boys have all made screen appearances before but are largely unknown. That is unless you caught Astro on his 17-episode run on The X Factor. He was a 14-year-old rapper who believed he was five years away from being "better than Jay-Z." You might scoff, but this kid has some serious confidence to go with his ambition. Watch him face off with Simon Cowell in his audition here:
Will Astro's stage presence translate to the silver screen? We'll find out when Earth to Echo hits theaters on July 2nd.
