The Film

I'm a guy who nearly always prefers a heavy, downbeat ending, in which the audience is forced to grapple with a problem that has no apparent solution, as opposed to endings that are happy just so that we can leave the theater in good spirits with nothing nagging at the conscious. However, District 9 makes me wonder how I could ever feel that way. This film progresses from frightening to angering to disturbing to saddening to heart-wrenching without missing a beat. It is so viscerally and emotionally intense that even I found myself hoping that somehow there could be a happy conclusion to the events. I almost didn't even care how.

Twenty-eight years ago an enormous alien ship arrived at Johannesburg, South Africa. It floated over the city for three months, doing nothing. We finally decided to enter it and see what was inside. Helicopters were sent, and inside, the soldiers found the ship packed with malnourished aliens, apparently abandoned by their leaders, groveling about miserably. The government cordoned off a slum for the aliens to live in, and problems arose. A mixture of dangerous acts of mischief on the aliens' side and prejudiced resentment on the South Africans' side resulted in heated relations between the two species until finally the South African government decided to evict every one of the aliens, moving them to an outdoor-prison-like area away from civilization. We follow Multi-National United (MNU) director Wikus van der Merwe as he leads the violent effort to relocate the aliens that now number in the millions. Things don't go well. The plot escalates drastically when Wikus stumbles upon an alien substance that causes him to slowly metamorphose into one of them. It also turns out that this substance is the aliens' only hope of ever returning to their home planet.

The single most powerful driving force of District 9 is its evocation of the trauma of great change. Every major plot point hinges on this theme. First it is the arrival of the aliens. The images of their ship hovering motionless above Johannesburg are utterly unsettling because of both the thrill of encountering an alien species for the first time as well as the anxiety of not knowing why they are here. Then the focus is on life with the aliens, which turns out to be an incredibly difficult adjustment for the people of South Africa, many of whom just want them gone. What results is civilian violence and government oppression against the species, which seems, on the whole, to be more frightened and disoriented than anything else.

The horror of drastic and unprecedented change is found, perhaps at its most extreme, in the plotline of Wikus' metamorphosis. Wikus is exposed to the substance that changes him while simultaneously serving eviction notices and searching aliens' houses, all in a sickeningly joyful manner. What he does not realize is that it took the aliens twenty years to extract this fluid from miscellaneous debris from their ship, and it is the one fuel that will allow them to power their ship and leave Earth. Wikus unwittingly sprays himself in the face with it while messing with it blindly. The metamorphosis begins with vomiting, sweating, and black nosebleeds and progresses to the loss of fingernails. Wikus wraps his hand in gauze, hoping the problem will fix itself, but after vomiting a black, viscous substance all over the cake at a party and subsequently being taken to the hospital, the gauze is unwrapped to reveal a fully functional alien hand.

Throughout the film's many changes of pace, Neill Blomkamp's directing remains practically perfect. It begins as a documentary of the aliens' arrival and our eventual attempt at relocating them. The appropriately gritty look of the film during this portion of it accentuates our inability to understand the aliens and their reason for being here. Smartly, this distance is retained throughout most of the film. Even after the movie sneaks in non-documentary footage to the point that most of the events on screen are happening now, the grotesque images are mostly kept brief and unclear. This creates an authentic feel to what is presented on screen instead of an attempt at showing off the special effects, which would have distanced the audience from the narrative. That's not to say there are not some close-ups and clear depictions of aliens and of Wikus' metamorphosis. There are, but all such depictions are used only when appropriate and always matter-of-factly. Blomkamp trusts in his and co-writer Terri Tatchell's ability to craft an engaging story as well as in the audience's ability to give themselves to such a story without requiring shiny close-ups of every visual effect. The special effects are wonderful, but Blomkamp uses them exclusively to advance the story, never simply to show off.

Watching District 9 is an exhausting experience. One minute you will be frozen with suspense, the next you will be gripped with horror, and then you will be torn between emotional polarities. I cannot recall a movie that has created such sympathy for alien characters nor one that has portrayed such cruelty against them. This is science fiction at its most effective. It presents us with something new, but instead of using this new thing as a spectacle, it uses it as a means of examining human nature. When you watch this movie, you will be unable to turn away -- not because it is fun but because it puts so much at stake.

Click here to read our full review of District 9.

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The Extras

• Commentary with director Neill Blomkamp
• The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log
• Deleted Scenes
• Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus
• Innovation: The Acting and Improvisation of District 9
• Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9
• Alien Generation: The Visual Effects of District 9
• Joburg from Above: Satellite and Schematics of the World of District9
• movieIQ
• CineChat
• Digital Copy
• God of War 3 Demo (for Playstation 3)

The commentary is probably the best part of the DVD, aside from the movie itself. One surprising bit of information is that Blomkamp claims District 9 became a political commentary mainly on accident, as racist affairs in South Africa began heavily to arise after pre-production had begun -- though tensions were obviously high far before the film was even conceived. He states that his reason for making the movie was not to make a political statement but simply to get to see science fiction in a South African setting. He also talks a lot about the various aspects he likes so much about science fiction (such as – surprise – body horror). Perhaps the most surprising statement he makes is that he considers much of District 9 to be humorous. That’s easy to see in some scenes (particularly those with “meatbag” explosions), but the scene that he first says he finds funny is the one in which a horrified Wikus is forced to kill innocent, pleading aliens as an experiment. “I mean, I don’t know if anybody finds it funny, but I find it kind of funny,” Blomkamp says. Sorry, Neill, we definitely do not.

"The Alien Agenda" is a thirty-minute documentary on the making of District 9. It briefly covers virtually all aspects of the movie, from conception to post-production. It provides a look at the general difficulties of the shooting, and it offers a few glimpses at Blomkamp's directorial style.

There is quite a bit of deleted footage -- twenty-two minutes' worth. Most of it is fairly mundane, so it's easy to see why it wasn't ultimately included. There are a few humorous scenes, here, such as the eviction bits played with against the actor in the motion capture suit, as well as an instructional video on the physiology of the alien species. No commentary on the deleted scenes.

“Metamorphosis” is your typical behind-the-scenes makeup effects bit, focusing on Wikus’ transformation. What’s most interesting here is not the makeup process but the psychological aspect of it, how occasionally disturbing it was for Sharlto Copley (the actor playing Wikus), and the physical toll it takes on him. One night he actually had to sleep with the full alien arm on because they ran out of the arms on the set. This is also the only feature in which we hear from Peter Jackson, though he only appears for a total of about forty-five seconds, to discuss the film's approach to its morals.

“Innovation” covers the improvisation in the film, which is more prevalent than viewers might think. This lead to apprehensions on the parts of both Blomkamp and the actors. The former had no way of knowing for sure whether the film’s dialogue would turn out alright, and the latter were constantly worried about coming up with something dynamic to say. This seems to have helped uphold the film’s level of realism, but the fact that the movie turned out so well with such reliance upon improvisation is a testament to the skill of both Blomkamp and the actors.

“Concept and Design” goes over the design of the aliens, their weapons, the exosuit, and even the shantytown. This is one of the cooler featurettes, especially when it shows concept art. Blomkamp and crew also discuss the ideas behind many of the design choices.

“Alien Generation” covers the process of motion capture, painting out the human actor who plays the primary aliens, and all the complexities that arise while doing so. It’s interesting stuff for anyone wondering how the computer-generated aliens were inserted into the footage.

"Joburg from Above" is a semi-interactive feature in which you can explore District 9 itself, the Alien Mothership, and the MNU Headquarters to a moderate degree. It's nothing huge, but it does offer some extra District 9 lore.

movieIQ is similar to the BD-Live: Live Lookup that Fox included on the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Blu-ray, which allows you to access cast and crew information during playback. This is really convenient when you're being bothered by your inability to remember what movie you saw so-and-so in. movieIQ is not powered by IMDb like Live Lookup is, but the information does come from the internet (probably a Sony database set up specifically for the feature), so it's only available if your player is BD-Live capable. Unfortunately, when we tested it out, the movieIQ server was down for maintenance.

CineChat is a BD-Live function similar to BD-Live screenings. It allows you to watch the movie with other people who own the District 9 Blu-ray and have BD-Live-functional machines, and you can text chat with them while doing so.

For some reason it isn't advertised on the box, but the disc does include a Digital Copy. Also, Playstation 3 users get a demo of God of War 3. Woohoo!

Video/Audio

The picture on this release looks so good it makes me giddy. The daylight scenes are perfect, and the special effects, like the holographic displays in the exosuit, look plain awesome. There is no noticeable grain, and the levels and brightness are spot-on.

The sound (in DTS-HD Master Audio) is as dynamic as it gets. Bullets go everywhere, and the meatbag explosions are disgustingly clear, throwing innards to every corner of the room. At the same time, the surround sunned is not overused, either. The explosions that occur in the distance are placed primarily in the front speakers, as they should be, instead of all around the viewer.

Packaging/Menus

The standard Blu-ray case comes in a textured, slightly glossy cardboard cover. The two discs are housed on the inner sides of the case walls (i.e. no disc page). One neat little detail on the menu system for the disc with the full film is that you can choose between human or alien menu style. They both lead to the same film, of course, but depending on which option you choose, you get a slightly different interface, mostly as far as color goes.

The menu system is slightly confusing, however. Instead of laying out all your options and giving you control over a select box, it lists all options on the bottom of the screen, and when you press left or right, it shifts the entire menu to the left or right. Whatever's on the far left of the screen is the current selection. This would not be so bad, but there is no animation for the menu options shift; they just appear in their new spots. So, scrolling through your options can be a little disorienting.

Another minor annoyance is the fact that you can't skip straight to the menu system from the previews, like you can on most Blu-rays and DVDs. You have to skip through each preview individually. A bit of a pain.

Conclusion

District 9 is an amazing film. It is built upon a strong story, is carried forward with great acting, and retains its energy with fully convincing special effects and nonstop emotional extremes. The extras are on this release provide everything fans will want to know about the movie, most notably Blomkamp's own thoughts on (and occasional criticisms of) the film. This Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, and there's no reason to suspect any double-dipping. This is, without any caveats, a must-own for any sci-fi fan.