Seemingly helpless extraterrestrials arrive on Earth and are treated like any other vulnerable minority - as if they're subhuman - in this startling mix of sci-fi action and trenchant social drama from producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings). By framing events as a mock-documentary set in his native Johannesburg, writer/director Neill Blomkamp makes obvious reference to the shadow of apartheid, but the film never seems preachy. Heading a largely unknown South African cast, Sharlto Copley delivers a remarkable performance as the glib Afrikaaner bureaucrat heading up a brutal alien-relocation operation, who's forced by escalating events into an affecting realisation of the error of his ways. It may give way to (admittedly effective) shoot-'em-up fare in the later stages, but this remains a textbook example of fantasy cinema's ability to tackle thorny moral issues while splattering the screen with gloopy creature effects.

Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens' welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place he can hide: District 9.