Alpha – Movie Review (4/5)

ALPHA is the latest wild genre ride from Julia Ducournau. This time, we’re diving into a virus thriller that hits hard both emotionally and viscerally. It’s a coming-of-age story set in an alternate France spanning the late 1980s and early 1990s. Read our full Alpha (2025) movie review here!

ALPHA is a body horror and virus drama hitting US theaters, and once again, Julia Ducournau (Raw) delivers a ferocious genre hybrid. What we get is a coming-of-age story wrapped in a virus thriller, with a sleek layer of sci-fi woven into its DNA. Especially by use of an alternate-reality setting.

The virus itself feels eerily familiar, though it’s presented in a strikingly new form. This allows Julia Ducournau to explore just how chaotic and fear-driven things were in the real world in the 1980s and early 1990s. The film blends social realism with heavy symbolism, resulting in a story that cuts deep and lingers. It’s the kind of narrative that plants itself firmly in your chest and refuses to leave. At least, it did for me.

Continue reading our full Alpha (2025) movie review below. Find it in US theaters from March 27, 2026.

A Virus in New Clothing

It’s impossible to watch Alpha without thinking about AIDS, even though the word is never spoken. The time period and the treatment of patients make the inspiration crystal clear. And also terrifying! Julia Ducournau has also confirmed this, drawing from her own memories of growing up in the 1980s and witnessing the horrifying stigma surrounding AIDS patients.

People were afraid. And yes, that included doctors. That fear seeps into every frame of this genre piece.

But here’s the twist: the virus manifests differently. The infected slowly transform into statues. It’s a hauntingly beautiful metaphor for how vibrant young lives were suddenly frozen in time, remembered forever as youthful and untouched.

The victims become something resembling marble sculptures. Art. Untouchable. Avoided like the plague.

A woman fighting for those she loves

At the center, we meet 13-year-old Alpha. During a chaotic night out, she gets a very DIY-style tattoo while drunk. Her mother, a doctor treating patients affected by this virus, immediately recognizes the risk, especially from shared needles, and sets everything in motion to have her daughter tested.

At the same time, we follow Alpha’s uncle, Amin, who once cared for her when she was five, while battling his own substance abuse. The story unfolds mainly in the present, with Alpha at 13, but also revisits those earlier memories from eight years prior.

Amin is an addict, and his sister (Alpha’s mom) has always tried to protect him. Unfortunately, this virus is something she cannot shield him from. It devastates her, yet she refuses to give up, even as Amin seems ready to drift away in a final haze.

Alpha herself is caught in the middle of it all, between her mother and her uncle, clearly carrying pieces of both within her. Meanwhile, the virus spreads in a way that feels chillingly familiar to anyone who lived through the very recent COVID era.

Three Fantastic Characters

While there are three central characters, four actors deserve serious credit. Alpha is portrayed at two ages: five and thirteen.

The younger version is played by Ambrine Trigo Ouaked, while the teenage Alpha is brought to life with remarkable intensity by Mélissa Boros.

Mélissa Boros, in particular, anchors the film. She carries not only her own storyline but also acts as the emotional bridge between her mother and uncle. Through her, we experience the full weight of the story.

Her mother is played by Golshifteh Farahani, who is, quite simply, mesmerizing. She radiates love and care, but don’t mistake that for softness. She’s fierce when needed, especially when it comes to stopping those she loves from self-destruction.

And she has plenty of that in her life.

Especially her brother Amin, portrayed by Tahar Rahim. A character riddled with demons and deep addiction, Amin could easily have become a cliché. Instead, Tahar Rahim gives him raw humanity. If you’ve seen the Netflix series The Serpent, you already know he can disappear into a role. He does it again here, flawlessly.

More Familiar Faces

In supporting roles, we also see Emma Mackey as a nurse working alongside Alpha’s mother. Finnegan Oldfield appears as Alpha’s English teacher, who shares an unexpected connection with her outside the classroom. That’s all I’ll say about that.

Both actors bring an effortless authenticity to their roles, seamlessly blending into the film’s French-British atmosphere.

Watch Alpha in Theaters

Julia Ducournau once again takes both writing and directing duties on Alpha, just as she did with her previous films. She first exploded onto the genre film scene with Raw in 2016, followed by Titane in 2021. Both films boldly mix genres like horror, coming-of-age, body horror, mystery, sci-fi, and drama.

With Alpha, the horror elements are dialed down slightly, but make no mistake: the body horror and sci-fi elements are still very much alive. Between these films, Ducournau also worked on the series Servant, adding even more texture to her already fascinating career.

I was debating whether to give Alpha a 3 or 4 out of 5 rating. For me, the emotional impact alone pushed it over the edge to a worthy 4. However, I also want to mention that the runtime of just over two hours was what almost made me go one lower. About 15 minutes could have been trimmed – then my decision would have been a no-brainer.

Not least because I find it extremely hard to pinpoint what should go. Some of the sequences with no dialogue are among the most powerful moments, while the dialogue itself is crucial to the story. So yes… it deserves the rating I’m giving it!

ALPHA is out in US theaters on March 27, 2026.

Details

Director: Julia Ducournau
Script: Julia Ducournau 
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Mélissa Boros, Tahar Rahim, Emma Mackey, Finnegan Oldfield