Barklay (Dakota Fanning) is a canary class synthetic, a human grown by Cereberus Minerals to do the jobs their ‘real’ staff don’t want to. John Quinn (Jose Pablo Cantillo) is a security guard at the same facility Barklay worked at. A facility that’s just unearthed a colossal piece of alien rock called the Quartz. The Quartz transmits colossal amounts of information via light and is reprogramming its environment to better suit it. That includes Barklay and Quinn’s 97 colleagues, all now fused into a creature called a Zygote. And the Zygote wants them too…

This is the good stuff. Hitting the ground running and never stopping, Blomkamp crams everything he loves into this script and it all works. The effects are gloriously disgusting, the Zygote a nine foot fleshy column of amalgamated humanity whose shriek is one part hunting cry and one agonized scream for help. It’s a real, hideous threat but one with poignancy to it thanks to the horrifically plausible effects.

But the real horror here is Barklay and Quinn. Cantillo, one of those actors you’ve seen in a dozen things, is great here as an action hero realising this isn’t his story. Maimed, determined, heroic and doomed, he’s a memorable character in a series of movies that have, until now, lacked them. The result is a movie that sings, with two characters who you instantly relate to, a truly horrific monster and a cliffhanger that still feels like a complete narrative.

Barklay is even more interesting. Fanning is an excellent performer and the Ripleyian physicality she brings to the role here is tempered with fragility and full on rage. Barklay and her nature are the best part of the movie and Fanning knocks every scene out of the park.

Verdict: More than any other, this is one I’d love to see be given the full length treatment. It’s more than worthy of it. Inventive, dense with ideas and thick with tension, Zygote’s an excellent piece of short, nasty fun. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart