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Upon the release of District 9, it seemed like director Neill Blomkamp was on top of the world. Adapting his short film, with the help of Peter Jackson, into one of the biggest sci-fi movies of the early 2000's gave him the pedigree to do almost anything he wanted. Though his next several outings like Chappie and Elysium made it seem like Blomkamp might be a one hit wonder. After several disappointing short films, and one studio feature in Gran Turismo, it seems Neill Blomkamps downfall isn't stopping anytime soon.
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This little guy, hello, sorry
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That's nice, eh? Nice background with the people there. Flash in the pan is an odd expression
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one of those strange American English sayings that can be applied to two different circumstances
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It can be said in regard to something that repeats over and over again with no result
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or it could be described as a moment that resulted in something beautiful and special
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only to fail every time afterward. For Neil Blomkamp, they have not let that label define them
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continuing to create on their own merit and skill, even if no one is listening
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I gotta break my other arm to get attention from you because I will do this. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in the late 70s
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Neil Blomkamp's childhood was formed by the country's turbulent political climate and stark social inequalities
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This harsh childhood profoundly influenced his creative vision. Blomkamp would take that social commentary
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and meld it with a love for classic science fiction films like Alien, Terminator, and The Matrix
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He eventually moved to Vancouver, Canada during his teenage years, where he would attend the Vancouver Film School, focusing on the visual side of film and animation
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That background would land him work on sets for 3,000 Miles to Graceland, Stargate SG-1, and Dark Angel
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He had a natural talent for blending the real world with CGI in an almost cinema verite style
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that he developed on his own self-funded shorts like Tetraval and Alive and Joburg
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Those shorts would eventually land him the gig directing the promotional Landfall videos
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three shorts meant to excite audiences about the release of Halo 3
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The studio was so impressed that they intended for Blumkamp to make his debut directing a full
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feature-length Halo to be produced by Peter Jackson, a man with a similar knack for understanding
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how CGI can work within a practical lens. But with disputes over pre-production, the two decided
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instead to expand on the short Blumkamp had shot years before about aliens stuck on Earth in the
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director's home city of Johannesburg. Released in 2009, District 9 was a critical and commercial
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success grossing over million worldwide on a million budget The film had a unique narrative which used a documentary approach to depict an alien refugee crisis in Johannesburg Both critics and audiences loved the movie lauding its poignant social commentary
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and raw, unfiltered portrayal of apartheid's lingering impacts. The story felt to many of us like classic science fiction
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an expert use of genre that treated extraterrestrials as metaphor and held a dirty mirror up to our world
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Much of that success was due to childhood friend and lead Charlton Copley's improv during filming based on Blumkamp's props
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We are here at Masai Luk. Just look straight into the lanes. The film would go on to receive four Academy Award nominations
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including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, solidifying Blumkamp's reputation as a groundbreaking filmmaker
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And following the success of District 9, expectations were high for Blumkamp's next project
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In 2013, he released Elysium, a sci-fi action film set in a dystopian future
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where the wealthy elite live on a luxurious space station, while the impoverished masses struggle to survive on a ravaged Earth
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Despite its ambitious premise and impressive visual effects, Elysium was a very mixed bag all around
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Of course, the visual style and action scenes were well thought out, but the entire idea of the quote-unquote haves above and have-nots below
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felt slightly cheap and surface level. Add to that an out-of-character wooden performance from lead Matt Damon
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playing a character with zero arc other than classism is lame and the movie just sort of fell short
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There was an excitement in District 9, a frantic sense of not knowing what was going to happen next
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as the camera shook and scrambled along. Unfortunately, Elysium just felt flat and uninspired
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Part of that feeling is the lack of refined improv that was used for the more guerrilla filmmaking of District 9
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And Blumkamp admits as much, saying in an interview with Uproxx, I still think the satirical idea of a ring filled with rich people
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hovering above the impoverished earth is an awesome idea. I love it so much
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I almost want to go back and do it correctly, but I just think the script wasn't
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I just didn't make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. For the next film, he decided to return to the winning formula
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of adapting and expanding a previously made short film. Released in 2015 Chappie told the story of a sentient robot raised by a gang of criminals in a crime future It was a mix of action comedy and philosophical musings on artificial intelligence and consciousness
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However, it was also met with largely negative reviews, because again, things felt very hollow when compared to the movie we knew Blumkamp was capable of making
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Say rat. Rat? Say mommy. Say mommy. Chappie. Chappie's uneven tone, poorly developed characters
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and derivative plot elements felt more like a fine debut with beautiful effects instead of the third full-length feature
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of a science fiction auteur. Despite these issues, Chappie managed to gross $102 million worldwide
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against a $49 million budget. However, the film's lukewarm reception indicated that Blumkamp's creative formula of social commentary
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plus digital effects in a real world was losing its appeal. After Chappie, Blumkamp was attached to several high-profile projects that generated significant
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buzz, but ultimately did not come to fruition. One of the most notable was his proposed sequel to the Alien franchise
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In 2015, the director released his concept art for Alien 5, which garnered enthusiastic
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responses from fans and even received the endorsement of franchise star Sigourney Weaver
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However, the project was shelved indefinitely in favor of Ridley Scott's prequel series
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Blumkamp was also linked to a reboot of the Robocop franchise. This project too faced numerous delays and complications
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eventually leading to Blumkamp's departure. Additionally, he was involved in development of a film
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based on the video game Anthem, but this, like the other projects, did not progress beyond the planning stages
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There's definitely a through line up to this moment with Blumkamp and intellectual properties that he loves
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From his first foray into trying to make a full feature-length Halo, all the way up to the pitch-perfect design work on Alien
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he just doesn't seem to mesh with the studios to get to the actual making of the films
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Disillusioned with the traditional studio system, Blumkamp launched Oates Studios in 2017
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an independent studio focused on creating experimental short films. These films allowed Blumkamp to retain creative control
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and explore unconventional ideas without the constraints of major studio expectations. Oates Studios produced a series of visually stunning and thematically rich short films like Raka Firebase Zygote and Atom While these shorts showcased Blumkamp continued innovation in
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visual effects and his ability to tackle diverse sci-fi concepts, the films were released for free
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on YouTube and Steam, allowing for broad accessibility. That sort of connection with
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fans might be creatively fulfilling, but it certainly puts the books decidedly more in the
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red. Unfortunately, Blumkamp's gamble on himself to take that idea of self-financing and apply it
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to a film for theatrical release would be another failure in 2021's Demonic
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As Blumkamp's first foray into horror, the movie focuses on a young woman confronting
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demonic forces in a virtual reality simulation. Oh, gosh. And while that sounds like a cool concept on paper
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the script just doesn't have the ability to blend the two genres the way Charlie Booker has
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with Black Mirror, or even the 90s internet horror of films like Brainscan or Lawnmower Man
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we are also left with weak character development as nothing beyond the idea gets fully fleshed out
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In the wake of Demonic, Blumkamp had to deal with the bet he lost on himself
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and look for a hired gun gig. Signing on to Gran Turismo, a film adaptation
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of the popular racing video game series, the movie was a sharp departure from his usual sci-fi
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and social commentary fare. Gran Turismo offered Blumkamp an opportunity to work within the studio system once again
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and potentially rehabilitate his image. And it kind of worked. While the movie is not near the high of his early shorts
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or debut, there's a strong sense of visual storytelling. Burn that gap
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Burn that gap! Also working in the underdog genre gives Blumkamp the ability to use character shorthand
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for his protagonist's arc and avoid the flat characters of his recent work
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While we posited that Blumkamp might be a flash in the pan director at the opening of this video
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we also said there were two different interpretations of the expression. In the case of Blumkamp, he's a director
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who didn't make something beautiful and near perfect with his debut feature
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But since then, he's also continued to work, consistently on his own terms
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and with the projects he wants to create. Whether audiences and critics as a whole love them
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as unabashedly is sort of a moot point, because Blumkamp appears to love making them