District 9

District 9 – Neil Blomkamp – An alien spacecraft looms over Johannesburg, below which a ghettoized community of aliens are kept fenced in and segregated from humanity. The film combines mockumentary aesthetics with interviews and news coverage, gradually shedding such stylistic tropes for more traditionally cinematic action. Throughout Blomkamp keeps the film’s pace at an exciting level of momentum, which, when combined with entertaining effects, flashes of dark humour and politically probing intelligence makes for a very satisfying (and above all) fun watch. The political nature of the film, through which not only South Africa’s social fragmentation but also, more generally, humanitarian crisis without need for specification – in the crossfire of militant force and political corruption – becomes evocative of a Romero-esque commentary. It is probably reductive to wed District 9 to the political narratives of the (gleefully undead, yet politically alive) Zombie genre, as its South African context, paired with analogous alien injustice is commendably imaginative…and yet, the combination of action, black humour and occasional body horror (the protagonist’s alien metamorphosis) cannot help but resonate with Romero’s films…which is, by no means, a bad thing! Very enjoyable! 8/10