District 9 Director Releases Bizarre Short Film Rakka

Things get predictably weird in Neill Blomkamp's first project for Oats Studios, a 22-minute short film titled Rakka. The bizarre film was posted to Oats Studio's YouTube account on Wednesday, and since then, viewers have been pondering the genius of Blomkamp's newest mind bender.

The short, which stars Sigourney Weaver, follows a group of survivors on Earth after the planet has been taken over by a species of aliens called the Klum. "We were once mankind," the short's voiceover begins. "We were humanity. And now, we are no more than pests. Vermin. They came here to exterminate us. They took our history and culture. They covered our landmarks in dying humanity. The wail of the dying carried for miles."

The aliens are apparently building a breeding facility for the surviving humans, who they have kept as slaves. "People that have defected say it's worse than hell," the voiceover says. "Humans becoming some kind of incubators for the alien young." The aliens have also destroyed the atmosphere by building structures that spew methane, raising the global temperature and flooding the human cities. 

"Rats, insects, humans, they hack into our psyche, into our minds, paralyzing us," the voiceover says. However, the humans have found a way to fight back by designing a brain barrier that protects them from the alien influence. Still, the voiceover notes, the aliens know it's only a matter of time before the planet belongs entirely to them. 

We won't spoil the rest of the film for you, but you can watch all of the bizarre twists and turns for yourself above. Blomkamp said in a recent interview with Den Of Geek that he still has three more 20-minute shorts, called Saigon, Zygote, and Lima, on the way between now and mid-July, although they will all show different worlds than what he introduced in Rakka. All of the pieces will be available online for free, with funding coming through clicks and donations. 

While we wait for more of Blomkamp's bizarre new projects, see why we never got a sequel to his District 9.