Strange Crash Survival Sci-Fi Thriller ‘The Occupant’ Teaser Trailer
by Alex Billington
June 9, 2025
Source: YouTube
“I’m a survivor, just like you…” Decal Releasing has unveiled an official trailer for The Occupant, an indie survival thriller marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Hugo Keijzer. This recently premiered at the 2025 SXSW London Film Festival and will be out to watch in select theaters later this year – this is only a teaser trailer to start. An intriguing sort of sci-fi survival thriller set in the remote Georgian taiga, The Occupant starring Ella Balinska, Stuart Graham, Rob Delaney. When Abby, a guilt-ridden engineering geologist in transit from her remote assignment survives a mysterious helicopter crash, she must try to escape the harsh environment. But she is not alone. She is talking to someone on her walkie-talkine hoping to find a way out – but is he even real? “A twisty and inventive survival thriller” that will keep you hanging on until the very last frame. It’s hard to really figure out everything going on in this – is it all in her head? Is she just imagining this in shock, out of fear? Only one way to find out – gotta watch it & wait for the reveals.
Here’s the teaser trailer (+ poster) for Hugo Keijzer’s thriller film The Occupant, direct from YouTube:
British actress Ella Balinska is Abby, a desperate geologist who takes a high-paying, high-risk mining job in the remote wilds of Northern Georgia to fund her sister’s experimental cancer treatment. But when her chopper goes down and her radio becomes her only lifeline, Abby finds herself in a survival scenario that’s equal parts icy terrain & psychological warfare. Enter John (Rob Delaney), a mysterious voice on the other end. He’s charming, he’s helpful… and he might not be real. As Abby’s oxygen thins and her doubts rise, the real question isn’t how she’ll get out, but who she’s talking to… and what he wants. Is she really talking to someone who can help, someone who claims to “know exactly how she feels right now”? Scared, alone, and no idea how to get to safety. The Occupant is directed by the indie filmmaker Hugo Keijzer, making his feature directorial debut after many other short films previously. The screenplay is written by Philip Michael Howe, Hugo Keijzer, Roelof Jan Minneboo, Xiao Tang. Produced by Kwesi Dickson, Isabel Freer, Jay Taylor, Raymond van der Kaaij. This initially premiered at the 2025 SXSW London Film Festival just recently, and will debut on VOD to watch starting in September later this year. Is anyone interested?