There’s an 80s vibe to this Et-adjacent family adventure with Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson, relying on impressive practical effects

The Legend of Ochi creates such a complete visual experience that studio heads who have led countless multimillion-dollar trips to the green-screen warehouse should hang their heads in shame when they see it.

It’s not that writer-director Isaiah Saxon and his collaborators have abstained, monk-like, from modern technology in assembling this children’s fantasy film; though it consciously throws back to puppetry, matte paintings and other practical effects that were more common in live-action family films of the 1980s, The Legend of Ochi clearly makes use of digital tricks, too. But all of these non-ai techniques, as well as vivid location shooting in Romania, have been pulled together with an immense and immersive craft that could serve as an inspirational visual-effects demo reel for those jaded with CG gunk.