Proximity

The narrative toggles between a 1979 Alaska abduction and the contemporary era, where Isaac documents the event and the mystery expands online. It juxtaposes decades to show a persistent interest from extraterrestrials and a government response across time. The timeline links past events to present consequences, shaping how characters respond to revelations. The two periods emphasize how memory and evidence evolve as power shifts.

The opening abduction takes place in the remote woods of Alaska, setting a harsh wilderness tone. The story later moves to Costa Rica where the group connects with a hacker and pursues leads, and then to British Columbia where the aliens arrive and confront the human group in a cabin. The varied landscapes—lakes, forests, and remote cabins—underscore the film's atmosphere of isolation, discovery, and looming danger. The settings imply a broad, cross-continental reach of the alien presence.

👽 Alien Contact

Extraterrestrial contact sits at the center of Proximity, reframing humanity as an object of study rather than a solitary species. The aliens’ claim that they view Jesus as central to the universe blends science fiction with questions of faith and meaning. The film uses Isaac and Sara's experiences to probe what reliable understanding looks like when senses deceive and governments deny the truth. This theme also raises questions about consent and witness in a world surveilled by nonhuman observers.

🕵️ Conspiracy & Surveillance

Agent Graves and the UN-backed program represent a shadowy bureaucracy that seeks to control or erase inconvenient truths. The lie detector, trackers, and pursuit scenes highlight a tension between personal testimony and institutional power. The aliens' arrival with lethal force against the cabin underscores that human authorities may be outmatched by a superior presence. The theme critiques secrecy and the ways states shape narratives about reality.

💻 Tech & Viral Truth

Isaac's video diary and its viral spread become the film's engine for challenging authority. The internet age makes private experiences public, complicating who gets to decide what happened. As evidence circulates, the line between hallucination and reality blurs. The hacker Zed leverages digital networks to uncover the conspiracy, illustrating technology as a double-edged sword.

⏳ Time & Memory

The story's two timelines tie past abductions to present consequences, suggesting memory and traceable records shape our reality. Carl's backstory and the delayed consequences of the abductions create a sense of weight across decades. The eventual arrival of aliens reframes events as a prolonged, ongoing contact that reshapes the characters' lives. The six-month later ending reinforces that time changes people and institutions.