District 9 Plot Summary
District 9 is a science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp. The movie stars Sharlto Copley as Wikus Van De Merve and is set in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Released in 2009, the film is widely praised for its unique storyline, societal commentary, and impressive visual effects. The story takes place in an alternate universe in 1982, where a massive alien spacecraft hovers over Johannesburg.
The ship remains motionless, prompting the government to investigate. Inside, they discover millions of weakened and diseased alien creatures known as ‘prawns,’ resembling shrimp. Rumors circulate about a potential return to the mothership.
Talking about themes, “District 9” explores xenophobia, segregation, and exploitation among different communities, drawing parallels to apartheid and refugee crises.
What is District 9?
District 9 is set in Johannesburg, South Africa, where human residents are relocated to an area to house the alien refugees after their spaceship gets stranded over the city. Initially intended as an emergency shelter, District 9 quickly deteriorated into a slum-like environment plagued by poverty, crime, and filth.
The alien settlement is heavily guarded by security personnel, with a barbed wire fence and military checkpoints preventing anyone from entering or leaving. The human residents of Johannesburg view the non-terrestrial inhabitants with contempt, suspicion, and hostility, leading to discrimination and mistreatment.
The presence of aliens causes anxiety and xenophobia among the human residents of Johannesburg. Many see them as a threat to their jobs and safety, especially since experts believe they belong to the working class of their species.
While the first three years are relatively peaceful, with guards and fences surrounding District 9, tensions gradually escalate.
Residents become increasingly angry at the government for prioritizing resources for aliens over their own people. Violent protests erupt against the aliens, leading them to learn violence themselves. This puts more pressure on the government to take action.
What is the government’s plan to tackle the District 9 issue?
Because of human interference, District 9 has become overcrowded and a hub for various crimes. In the midst of this chaos, a warlord named Obesandjo establishes a black market in District 9, offering prostitutes and arms. Although the alien weapons are highly advanced, human hands struggle to wield them, as researchers conclude.
After several years, the situation only worsens, prompting the government to relocate the aliens from the city to a remote location. They hire MNU, a multinational arms manufacturing company, to oversee the relocation process. The company owner, Smit, tasks his son Wikus Van De Merve with obtaining consent for the relocation from the aliens.
Why is Wikus on the run?
Wikus, accompanied by his cameraman, a few mercenaries, and Army officer Koobus Venter, forms the crew in charge of relocation. They arrive in District 9 with a large convoy of vehicles to navigate through the protesters. Initially, Wikus speaks politely to every alien, and many of them agree to sign the relocation consent voluntarily.
However, when some aliens refuse to sign and retaliate, Venter and his crew resort to using force to make them sign the papers. The crew reaches Paul’s shed, where he, a prawn working on returning home, hesitates to sign the relocation papers. When soldiers attempt to apprehend him, Paul shoots one of them and throws Wikus into a fire, causing his arm to be burned.
Venter fatally shoots Paul, and Wikus receives medical treatment. After his arm is dressed, Wikus and his crew enter Paul’s shack, where they discover advanced weapons. Among them, Wikus finds a cylinder containing black fluid, which he accidentally activates. The fluid splatters on Wikus’s face and some of it enters his mouth.
Wikus cleans up the mess and takes the cylinder as evidence. As they proceed, they encounter Christopher and CJ, friends of Paul. CJ behaves rudely towards Wikus, provoking the soldiers to force Christopher to sign the documents. While searching Christopher’s shack, Wikus begins vomiting blood.
Concerned, the crew decides to take him to the hospital. At the hospital, when the doctor removes the bandage from Wikus’s burned arm, they discover that his arm has mutated into a prawn claw.
Wikus is taken to the MNU lab, where brutal experiments are conducted on him. He’s forced to wield alien weapons and even forced to kill a prawn. After numerous experiments, Smit and the MNU decide to preserve Wikus’s body parts to create the perfect hybrid of prawn and human before Wikus fully mutates.
When Wikus learns of this plan, he flees for his life. Smit spreads rumors about Wikus being involved with a prawn, causing all of Wikus’s relatives and friends to turn their backs on him. With nowhere else to go, Wikus’s only option is to seek refuge in District 9.
What happens to Christopher, CJ, and Wikus at the end?
When Wikus arrives in District 9, helicopters are scouring the area to find him. He receives a call from his wife, who expresses her disgust and refuses to ever see him again. Frustrated, Wikus tries to chop off his arm but only manages to sever a thumb. He flees from the soldiers and ends up seeking refuge in Christopher’s shack, where he eventually loses consciousness.
Upon waking up, Christopher asks about the liquid cylinder. Together with CJ, they concoct a plan to break into the MNU lab and retrieve the cylinder. Christopher explains that they discovered the liquid two decades ago and believe it can power the Mother spaceship and reverse Wikus’s mutation.
After successfully stealing the fluid from the lab, they head towards their spaceship. However, Christopher informs Wikus that they will need to wait three years before they can use the fluid, as it’s not enough to power both the spaceship and the healing machine. He promises to return for Wikus once they have gathered enough resources.
A furious Wikus knocks Christopher down and reaches CJ. Together, they manage to start the shuttle that had fallen from the mother ship. Wikus attempts to pilot it, but unfortunately, he crashes.
Venter captures Christopher and Wikus with the intention of taking them to the MNU. However, the warlord’s men intervene and abduct Wikus, leaving Christopher behind with Venter.
The warlord wants to transform into a prawn so he can operate the alien weapons effectively. To achieve this, he has enlisted the help of witches. The witches suggest that the warlord should consume Wikus’s mutated arm to undergo the transformation. As they perform the ritual, CJ activates a weapon suit in the warlord’s lair that targets every human present except Wikus, as he now identifies as an alien.
Wikus enters the suit and saves Christopher before being shot by Venter. Christopher and CJ activate the mother ship, which pulls the shuttle inside. They depart for their home planet, promising to return in three years to help Wikus.
The movie concludes with a scene where Wikus’s wife receives a metal rose crafted by him. The final shot shows Wikus fully mutated into a prawn, crafting another metal rose.