Space Ryder: A New Bounty
2023 · 13m · USA
Directed by Jeff Kenji Sloniker
Genres: action, adventure, sci-fi
Tones: humorous, tense, theatrical
An intergalactic bounty hunter named Ryder lands on a distant planet in pursuit of an elusive monster, only to discover the hunt is far stranger than he bargained for.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Space Ryder wants to be a swashbuckling romp but lands somewhere between sincere homage and self-aware pastiche—which is fine, except it doesn't commit hard enough to either to actually subvert the space-western formula it's playing in.
The film demonstrates technical competence in its hybrid practical-and-CG approach, though it sits outside the lineage of formally rigorous sci-fi shorts that interrogate their own construction; it's earnest entertainment rather than craft argument.
That decision to trust practical creature work over pure digital—to let the texture and tactility of the monster ground the absurdity—is what makes this micro-budget swing work, and it's the kind of constraint-driven choice that separates a scrappy short from a genuinely inventive one.
Reviews
Space Ryder is a visual treat... effortlessly cool... top-notch effects and production design.
Festivals
- HollyShorts Film Festival 2024
- The Monthly Film Festival 2023, 3rd Film of the Month / Original Score of the Month / Editor of the Month