The first thing you should understand about District 9 is this: the less you know about it, the better your viewing experience will be.

So, if you can, ignore the viral videos, stay away from the trailers and don’t read reviews.

Well, you can read this one as we’re staying well away from spoilers but it’s the kind of film that comes on like a slap to the face (in a good way) if you’re mostly ignorant.

That said, fence sitters might need a prod in the right direction so we’ll be as secret squirrel as possible.

Produced by Peter Jackson, District 9 has this broad but intriguing premise: what if aliens arrived on Earth? But instead of hovering over Manhattan or Tokyo or, hell, even Sydney – what if they hung over Johannesburg, South Africa.

Let’s take this premise a bit further. What if the aliens, for whatever reason, weren’t gentle and wise humanoids. What if they were like crustaceans and fed on garbage? What if they were starving, malnourished and needed care?

Humans don’t look after our own kind so what would we do with piss poor beings from another planet?

That’s the premise for District 9 (the name of the ruined shanty town the “prawns” currently occupy). The movie itself plays out initially as a mock doc and then… well, that would be telling.

Know this though: District 9 is one of the most compelling and cerebral sci-fi movies to come along for an extremely long time. The makeup effects and CGI are flawless, so flawless in fact you soon forget about them and concentrate on the story.

As for what happens in the film – you’re in for a story that’s both funny, sad and subversive. Characters go on interesting journeys and the doco conceit anchors the film in some of its more wild moments.

District 9 is a brave, intelligent and exciting film. Some of its story beats fall into the “unlikely” category but the central idea, the design and the acting is so strong you’ll likely go with it and have a damn good time doing so.

Possibly the most witty and eloquent sci-fi movie in the last decade.

SCORE: Four triumphant claw strokes