Peter Jackson's Oscar-Nominated Sci-Fi Movie Is A Must-Watch On Netflix

Peter Jackson has worn so many filmmaker hats that, at this point, that saying "a Peter Jackson movie" can mean just about anything. From his early days making delightful slapstick splatter schlock like "Bad Taste" and "Braindead," to the magnum opus that is his "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and beyond, the untold truth of Jackson has plenty of creative twists and turns. The filmmaker has been known to keep his actions unpredictable, too — after all, this is a man who once considered radical measures to forget his "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy" just so he could enjoy what he helped create as a fan.

The fact that Jackson is also a prolific producer only adds to the impressive depth of his filmography. Now, one of the coolest films that he's produced is available for streaming on Netflix. Neill Blomkamp's South African stranded alien colony epic "District 9" (2009) was nominated for no less than four Academy Awards, including a best picture nod for Jackson and co-producer Carolynne Cunningham. If you've managed to miss this sci-fi staple — or only just learned that Jackson had a hand in making it — now is the perfect chance to experience it yourself. 

"District 9" is a film where the aliens aren't invaders, or even a particularly risky arrival. Instead, they're desperate refugees from a planet in its death throes, and they end up being treated as displaced peoples so often are. Stuck in the titular slum-slash-internment camp near Johannesburg, these so-called "Prawns" are widely hated and distrusted. As the situation is about to take an even worse turn for the aliens, a milquetoast bureaucrat called Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) becomes entangled in a dark plot involving the Prawns ... and ends up changing the course of events in a dramatic fashion.

A critical darling that infuses its sci-fi premise with deliberately uncomfortable apartheid callbacks, "District 9" is a unique movie that virtually screams to be seen. Add in the fact that the film features one of the coolest sci-fi cliffhangers that never got resolved, and there's plenty of incentive to add it to your Netflix queue.

"District 9" is available for streaming on Netflix.