Horror Galore

You may already know how it begins. Twenty-eight years prior aliens arrived. Earthlings were amazed…at first…until days became weeks while a city-like ship ominously hovered — lifeless above Earth. As tension mounts, humans decide to peek inside. What they find are huddled masses — needing everything from food, to medical attention. Being good, kindhearted humans we decide to take the aliens in.

Jump ahead by about three decades, and humans still haven’t benefited from their intergalactic friends. Not-to-mention humans must now share space with insect-like humanoids. Needless to say, the obligatory fan gets hit and hell breaks loose. Uprisings and protests mount in an effort to get the aliens to leave.

Aliens in D9 are believable.

What happens next, raises District 9 to greatness. They could have given us a cookie-cutter and told yet another tired story about humans bravely taking on space baddies. Thankfully, the film-makers took a more daring approach. Delving into an intriguing story about a government so close to corporate interests that it’s difficult to tell where the government ends and the corporation begins. It turns out, keeping aliens here is much more profitable then sending them home. It somewhat mirrors our real life scenario — involving certain troops occupying certain mountains with ever-changing objectives that never seem to bring them home.

This is when we meet Dick Che…I mean, Wikus Van De Merwe. Poor Van De Merwe is given the task of relocating aliens for Multi-National United (MNU). The tricky part for MNU is keeping aliens close and humans even closer. MNU decides to move the aliens far from human contact. What happens next is a brilliant piece of rogue style film-making. We learn about crucial character events through interviews of those characters’ family and friends. Director Neill Blomkamp, adds subtle touches like this throughout the film, enhancing the overall environment. Filming in South Africa also lended heavily to realism.

Tensions mount between humans and non-humans.

A lot of people have been complaining, saying District 9 could be ruined by ads that reveal too much. On the contrary, I am happy to report the story is much deeper than could be conveyed by ads. It’s difficult to stop writing or talking about such a wonderfully original film. If you hear anyone discussing District 9 before you see it, cover your ears.

Everyone is flawed in the world of District 9, leaving you with heroes you empathize with instead of cheer for. The timing of this release couldn’t be better, as people in America find themselves in the middle of a heated debate about something as fundamental as heath care. The political overtones in District 9 aren’t as much overtones as they are a brutal smack ‘upside the head.’ I wasn’t expecting District 9 to be an example of brave film-making, but it most certainly is, which brings us to the thrilling ending.

The ending is hard to even hint at without spoiling it. So I will skip right to Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp’s decision to turn up gore, splatter and brutality near the end of the film. It may surprise some. However, I believe they had to stay with the real documentary style they established in the beginning — they couldn’t suddenly begin holding back during the final, most important act. When violence happens you feel like a witness, not a gratuitous spectator.

District 9 is harsh and realistic.

The realism is what makes this film special. From political statements, to perfect plot twists, to spectacular creatures, which seem like real characters. You will never have one those, ‘Yeah right’ moments while watching. District 9 will engage you from beginning to end. This is definitely not a fun sci-fi flick for kids. It is a bitter and dark story, drug kicking and screaming into the light of day, by director Neill Blomkam’s brightly lit scenes. Almost as if he were challenging the audience — saying you can’t look away even if you wanted to.

Three years, I promise!