From the opening shot of Alpha, Julia Ducournau’s follow-up to her mind-melting Palme d’Or-winning body horror film Titane, you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re being eased into another tale of gory excess.
A small hand plays connect-the-dots with the abscessed needle marks on an adult arm, showing a child not repulsed by the harshness of a world she may not yet fully understand. This is a child seeing the opportunity to create beauty through constellations.
