Netflix’s new Polish sci-fi gem Project UFO is an unexpected delight. I loved it. If you speak Polish, great—otherwise, do yourself a favor and watch it in the original language with English subtitles. The rhythm, tone, and quirks of the dialogue land so much better that way.

I stumbled onto it while trailer-surfing for a stand-alone movie—I didn’t want to get sucked into a multi-season time vortex. Nothing grabbed me… until Project UFO popped up. “A limited series?” I thought. Okay… let’s see how this goes.

At first watch, it looked like a mess: awkward cinematography, B-actors, stiff acting, a dated soundtrack, and a plot that felt like it was cribbing from a stack of pulp fictions. Yet, like a car crash I could not look away… episode by episode, something happened. Those same “flaws” transformed—awkward shots became deliberate, off-kilter compositions, brilliant; the casting was sensational, the acting revealed layers of dry humor and quiet menace; the soundtrack became a time-warp mood-setter. The plot? Wild, unpredictable, and possibly so strange that even the actors weren’t entirely in on the secret. Think Twin Peaks meets Asteroid City meets Roswell.

By the end, I wasn’t just watching—I was hooked, eagerly hitting “Next Episode” and savoring every odd, eerie, and oddly beautiful moment. Wait for it……

If all that does not grab you–this series was based upon true events:

Emilcin Abduction (10 May 1978)

This case remained culturally resonant throughout the decade, during Communist Poland. Farmer Jan Wolski reported being approached by two short, green-faced humanoid creatures while riding his horse-drawn cart near Emilcin. They boarded his cart, communicated in an unknown language, and led him to a hovering craft. Inside, he claimed to undergo medical examination before being released. The story eventually inspired books, a comic titled Przybysze, and even a memorial at the site.

Once again, off-continent productions are racing ahead while Hollywood stalls—mired in actor IP squabbles, churning out endless sequels for the numb, and serving up the violence and bad behavior it claims to oppose.