'Xeno' (2025) Review: A Moving, Family-Friendly Sci-fi Adventure
- Romey Norton
- Sep 20
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - September 19, 2025
What Is Xeno About?
Xeno is a sci-fi adventure produced by Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions and brought to life by the legendary Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Directed by Matthew Loren Oates, the film stars Lulu Wilson as a teenage girl whose chance encounter with an alien in the desert sets off a journey that questions morality, loyalty, and the gray lines between good and evil.
Part road-movie, part creature-feature, the film wears its influences proudly. Think E.T. meets The Iron Giant, but adds a darker edge that keeps it from feeling nostalgic alone.
Lulu Wilson plays a restless teen who stumbles across a terrifying extra-terrestrial stranded on Earth. What begins as fear gradually evolves into an unexpected friendship. Together, they flee across desert landscapes while shadowy government agents close in. But the twist lies in the alien itself: it may not be the wide-eyed visitor audiences expect. Instead, it’s a complex being whose presence forces the girl to confront her beliefs about good and evil.
Lulu Wilson anchors the film with surprising gravity, balancing youthful vulnerability with a determined edge. Her chemistry with the creature is the emotional core, and you're rooting for them from the start. Omari Hardwick provides grounded, heartfelt support, offering wisdom and tension in equal measure. The supporting cast, including Trae Romano, Wrenn Schmidt, and Paul Schneider, round out the film with moments of humour and menace, but Wilson and the alien truly dominate the screen. Gill’s character, looking like Timothée Chalamet, did make me giggle - he's silly and endearing.
The story is very similar to what we’ve seen before. A lonely child, with an awkward relationship with their parents, on a swing, longs for something and then meets an alien, whom they slowly befriend and want to protect. But it is still wonderful to watch and grow with. You know the alien is going to get discovered, and its life will be at risk, and then it’s about getting the creature home. It’s a sci-fi as old as time, but we love it because it's familiar and appears real. So the film doesn’t get any points for originality, but it does for the acting and the puppetry. And without too many spoilers, this alien isn't as nice as E.T. I'd still keep him as a pet, though.
The ending is very powerful and emotional, especially for a young-adult film. I was pretty much crying, so that should give you an idea of what happens.
The Creature as a Character
We all want to see, relate to, and dream about encountering the alien as both a child and an adult. Thanks to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the alien isn’t a CGI blur but a tactile, practical creation. I love this choice; more and more audiences are rejecting CGI because of its lifeless and mostly awful look. This decision to use a tangible puppet gives the film weight - when the girl reaches out to touch the creature, we feel it too. It’s a throwback to a time when movie monsters felt alive, from the twitch of a claw to the flicker of its expressive eyes. You can instantly tell it is a Jim Henson creation as it does resemble ones from The Dark Crystal, which some audiences might find a little scary; I know I did as a child.
Is Xeno Worth Watching?
Xeno doesn’t reinvent the sci-fi wheel, but spins it with enough sincerity and visual wonder to win over audiences. Anchored by Lulu Wilson’s performance and a mesmerising alien brought to life through practical effects, it’s a heartfelt throwback with modern polish. Some beats may feel familiar, but the emotional payoff lands. It’s a family-friendly story (rated PG-13), but it doesn’t shy away from darker undertones, which gives the film a strong substance.
At its core, Xeno isn’t about aliens; it’s about empathy. The film asks: What does it mean to trust the unfamiliar? Can friendship exist where fear dominates? And how far would you go to protect someone, or something, that the rest of the world wants destroyed? It’s a family-friendly story (rated PG-13), but it doesn’t shy away from darker undertones. It’s something everyone can enjoy and is instantly memorable.
Xeno opens in theatres nationwide on September 19, 2025
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