Rakka (2017)

22 minutes. An alien invasion, humanity’s resistance, and Sigourney Weaver — all packed into less than a quarter of a standard feature film. One of the experimental projects that Neill Blomkamp released through Oats Studios, it is short but by no means lightweight in density. Rating: ★4.0.

What it’s about — An alien invasion packed into 22 minutes

Earth, conquered by the technologically overwhelming alien species known as the Rakka. Humanity has been nearly enslaved, and alien parasites have been implanted in the skulls of some people. While survivors in the ruins of Texas keep the resistance alive, a group led by Sigourney Weaver searches for ways to fight back. The documentary-style narration-driven structure compresses this world’s history for rapid delivery.

Direction — Pouring in feature-grade visuals

Blomkamp poured the same realistic sci-fi visuals he showed in District 9 and Elysium into this 22-minute short. The production is known to have had a substantial budget, and the alien creature design and the ruined urban landscape are at blockbuster feature film level. Handheld camera work raises the sense of presence, and the visual threat of the alien entities feels real. The Rakka alien species are depicted as insect-like in form, cold beings who use humans as tools. Rather than showing directly how survivors resist them, the approach is to suggest it — and this actually suits the short film format well. The documentary-style narration rapidly delivers the world-building while the visual scenes support it — an efficient approach.

Performance — Sigourney Weaver’s charisma

Sigourney Weaver creates a charismatic resistance leader in a short time. There is a weight that comes from long experience. The Oats Studios projects became a topic of conversation for bringing star actors to small-scale short films, and Weaver’s willingness to participate in this short itself shows trust in Blomkamp.

What the film says — Occupation and an independent sci-fi experiment

Rakka deals with occupation and colonization, and the human will to maintain oneself within that. The image of an alien species taking over human bodies reads like an extreme allegory for colonial domination. But the reason this short feels more important than its theme is its form. Oats Studios released Rakka and other short films for free on YouTube, testing world-building that could lead to feature film development. It is a project that experimented with a way to make independent sci-fi within the film industry.

Ratings & reception

IMDb score is 7.3. For a short film this is a notably high assessment. Rather than professional criticism, it became a topic among sci-fi fans, and is frequently cited as a successful example of the Oats Studios experiment. Compared to other shorts in the same series (Zygote, Firebase), Rakka is often cited as the most accomplished work in the collection.

What doesn’t quite work

22 minutes is both the advantage and the limitation. The world-building is interesting enough, but the story ends before it truly begins. There is no time to know the characters deeply, and the screen closes before any emotional investment can accumulate. One can only wonder what kind of film it could have become as a longer feature.

Verdict

22 minutes, but a must-see for sci-fi fans. The visual quality is equal to major studio features, and it is packed with Neill Blomkamp’s characteristic grounded sci-fi aesthetic. Oats Studios produced several other short films beyond Rakka including Zygote, Firebase, and Fireplace — all available for free on YouTube. The combination of Sigourney Weaver and Neill Blomkamp actually carries special meaning for fans, coming after the Alien 5 project they had planned together following District 9 was cancelled. It proves that short sci-fi can achieve density equal to a feature film — a work with very high satisfaction-to-time ratio. ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Neill Blomkamp fans or people who enjoyed District 9
• Those looking for short but dense sci-fi
• Anyone interested in the possibilities of independent short sci-fi filmmaking