District 9
Genre SCI-FI
Theme Aliens & UFOs
Style Mockumentary · Hybrid
Director: Neill Blomkamp · Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike
The Story
Twenty years after a stranded alien ship parks itself over Johannesburg, a mid-level bureaucrat overseeing the forced relocation of its refugee occupants gets exposed to something that starts turning him into one of them.
Verdict
Everything about this one works. The mockumentary opening, the found footage elements, the big-budget action, the ideas underneath it all, the story, it all comes together perfectly, which is rare for a film trying to do this much at once. Sharlto Copley’s performance sells the whole thing, going from smug bureaucrat to something genuinely sympathetic almost entirely through body language, since half the film he’s barely recognizable under prosthetics. A film that proves found footage and blockbuster ambition don’t have to be at odds with each other.
Also Featured In
Best Found Footage Movies of All Time
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Chronicle (2012) Another film about ordinary people gaining something extraordinary, and how quickly that power reshapes who they are. → Go to movie
Area 51 (2015) A much smaller-scale, low-budget counterpart if the government-conspiracy angle here is what interested you most. → Go to movie
Europa Report (2013) A quieter, more contemplative alien story for a completely different register. → Go to movie
