Julia Ducournau is one of the most original horror directors around, having served up the brilliant Raw and the bonkers body horror Titane. There was excitement when her new film, Alpha, was announced —an examination of a family in crisis, dealing with trauma, and an allegory for the AIDS epidemic. However, what starts off with great promise suddenly turns into a rambling, incoherent mess as it shifts its focus, becoming more perplexing than entertaining.

Alpha is a 13-year-old girl who comes home from a party with a badly infected tattoo. Her mother, a doctor, is having to cope with an epidemic and fears for her daughter’s health while dealing with a brother who is a junkie and brings his own set of issues.

Ducournau’s previous films have dealt with cannibalism and the relationship between humanity and machinery with such visual aplomb that, even when the stories go off the rails, you can forgive her. Here, the focus is on the young girl and her struggle to grow up in a society where paranoia and fear are spreading. The epidemic is horrific, turning people into marble that leads to death, which is proof that Ducournau hasn’t lost the ability to shock.

The first half of the film is terrific. We watch as Alpha has to deal with bullying from her classmates as she bleeds without any reason, sending them into a state of frenzy that she is infected with the disease. The mother, having to witness first-hand the horrors of what this disease brings, is too brimming with fear that one silly act should cause so much pain. A scene in which Alpha sees her teacher at a hospital and the aftermath of that meeting is one of the film’s more heartbreaking moments.

Then it seems to shift its focus to the Uncle of Alpha, a skinny drug addict whom Alpha met once and who now appears to take precedence over the story, and this is where the film loses not only its emotional edge but also the viewers’ patience. The peril of Alpha’s act is pushed aside as a man refuses to accept his eventual fate, and in the process, the whole thing becomes confusing and slow. Something that you could accuse Raw or Titane of ever being.

Ducournau has so many ideas that she insists on putting them all into one story, and you find yourself saying that less should have been more. It becomes rambling and almost painfully unrewarding, leaving you cold and walking out, asking yourself what she is trying to say.

Having said that, kudos to the performances, all of which are excellent. Mélissa Boros, as the title character, is an actress to keep an eye on. She brings a depth of character that even the most seasoned performer would find hard to match. Golshifteh Farahani, as Alpha’s mother, has the challenging role of being a woman brimming with fear while at the same time having to be in control of her professional and personal lives, and she delivers. It is French actor Tahar Rahim, star of A Prophet and The Mauritanian, who is incredible. Losing considerable weight, he manages to elicit sympathy for a role that doesn’t deserve it, while being almost captivating on screen.

Alpha is the first misstep from an exciting voice in cinema, and while there is plenty to admire, it fails to deliver the punch that it could have. Focus on one area of storytelling, and this could have been a masterpiece. Instead, it is nothing more than a colossal disappointment.

3 out of 5

Director: Julia Ducournau

Starring: Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani, Mélissa Boros, Emma Mackey, Finnegan Oldfield, Louai El Amrousy, Ambrine Trigo Ouaked

Written by: Julia Ducournau

Running Time: 128 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 14th November 2025