8. The Setting Is Crucial

By now, we've seen a hundred movies set in various locations across America - as one of the jokes in CG 'toon Monsters Vs Aliens runs, it's "the only country UFOs ever seem to land in."

But Blomkamp's creative choice to set this film in South Africa makes for a startlingly different experience at the cinema, and we don't just mean because of its real-life bubbling racial tension.

Sure, some might be put off by the heavy South African accents, but is it any more challenging than some of the crazier US drawls?

"In my opinion, the film doesn’t exist without Joburg, says Blomkamp. "It’s not like I had a story, and then I was trying to pick a city. It’s totally the other way around.

"It’s that when I got to Canada, in my 20s, I started to get more and more and more interested in Johannesburg, which must have been because I grew up there, but separate to that, it became this insane sociopolitical interest of mine.

"I actually think Johannesburg represents the future. My version of what I think the world is going to become looks like Johannesburg. Every time I’m there, it feels like I’m in the future, so I was just very, very interested in the city.

"And then when my short film Alive In Joburg (upon which District 9 is based) happened, I thought, 'What about if I just put science fiction into this? I’d love to see what that is.'  So the whole film grew out of a love-hate relationship with Johannesburg, really."

Next: Mock-dock style is a treat