Cosmic Dawn follows Aurora (Camille Rowe) — a young woman left shaken and confused after witnessing an alien abduction at a young age. This experience eventually leads her to the UFO cult The Cosmic Dawn. During her time at the cult, she meets a variety of unique personalities, including the diehard cult follower Natalie, played by Emmanuelle Chriqui.
The sci-fi flick packs in loads of mystery, experimental aspects, and noteworthy performances in its 98-minute run-time. It has many exciting elements including original music by Andrew VanWyngarden, the lead songwriter and vocalist from the indie band MGMT. Cosmic Dawn truly manages to resonate as a genuine story, perhaps because it was inspired by the director's real-life experience. In a statement, director and writer Jefferson Moneo, shared, "Cosmic Dawn was shaped by an extraterrestrial encounter I had as a child. Like Aurora in the film, no one believed my story." He added, "But perhaps recent revelations will start to change people’s minds. Aliens are out there—and they are real!"
Game ZXC had the opportunity to chat with scene-stealer Emmanuelle Chriqui, best known for her roles in Entourage, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and Superman & Lois. Chriqui was drawn to the project immediately, citing the director's vision as a reason. She told us, "I always knew that the director Jefferson Moneo had such a great vision, and he killed it. It was so cool because it had such a vintage, cool vibe." We went on to chat about her first impression of the Cosmic Dawn script, MGMT's music, and her personal thoughts on alien life.
Game ZXC: What was your first reaction when you read the script?
Emmanuelle Chriqui: I was like whoa, whoa, that's trippy. It's funny, when I read the script, it didn't seem that out there to me. We're all aware of cults and surrounded by crazy stories of cults and people that genuinely believe UFOs exist and that there is an alternate reality, and that we aren't the only versions of ourselves. So when I read it, I was like, awesome. Like, why not?
Game ZXC: If you were abducted by an alien, what are three questions you would want to ask them?
Chriqui: Have you always been around? Like, have you always been here? Have you been giving us messages? I would really love to know that. I would love to know the future of humanity and where we go from here.
GR: Getting back to Cosmic Dawn, how would you summarize your character's journey?
Chriqui: Natalie is a deep believer in this cult and lures Aurora into really believing that this is for the highest good of all. She has drank the Kool-Aid.
GR: What was the biggest challenge you had tapping into your character and these intense experiences?
Chriqui: Like I said, initially when I read the script, it felt so grounded to me. I think the biggest challenge I had was when I'm speaking in tongues, and I almost get possessed. It's so intense, and it's such an all-encompassing experience. I really needed to play around with it so that it felt real and not like some girl just freaking out.
GR: How did you play around with it?
Chriqui: One of my best friends and actor, JR Bourne, actually helped me with it. We did a lot of cool exercises. When I'm speaking in tongues, I had translated it for myself — from an emotional point of view. I had so much anxiety about what it was going to feel like when I went full-on and so with him in like a safe space, I did it. We did it.
GR: What are you most looking forward to viewers seeing?
Chriqui: Oh my gosh, I think the music is so phenomenal. If you're a fan of MGMT, it's awesome. Also, it's such a captivating story. I'm so fascinated by cults and the woman that plays Elyse (Antonia Zegers) is so incredible. She really pulls you into this realm. I'm always fascinated by how quickly people can be manipulated and brainwashed. I just find that fascinating about humans in general. And we really get to explore those things in our movie from everybody's point of view.
GR: Final question, you mentioned MGMT — did you listen to any specific songs to tap into your character?
Chriqui: No, not really. On-set we did this scene where we were listening to a song, and we were all singing and dancing together. We listened to it a whole bunch of times. Honestly, that was just such a fun scene to film.
Cosmic Dawn debuts theatrically and on-demand February 11.