Alpha

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Alpha

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2h 2m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

57%

Tomatometer

100 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Alpha, a troubled 13-year-old lives with her single mom. Their world collapses the day she returns from school with a tattoo on her arm.

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Critics Consensus

Strong performances and a visually striking finale notwithstanding, Alpha ultimately frustrates with its unwieldy structure and imbalanced blend of fantastical and realistic elements.

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Tim Grierson

Los Angeles Times

Mar 30

As “Alpha” reaches its stylish, dreamlike ending, she hits upon an absorbing final image that suggests the collective sorrow and emotional devastation our recent plague years have wrought.

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Katie Rife

RogerEbert.com

Mar 27

1.5/4

At times, 'Alpha’ plays like a Cronenbergian after-school special, in which the visual metaphors are overplayed, and the drama is broadly sketched to teach a moral lesson.

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Mar 26

Softer and gentler than either of its forbears, “Alpha” hums with a dreamlike unease, a movie less concerned with sensation than with genuine feeling.

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Stephen A. Russell

Orion's Shoulder (Substack)

3d

Again recasting body horror’s bones into something equally thrilling and frightening, Alpha is a suitably devastating parable of the AIDS crisis that also draws deep on Ducournau’s Amazigh heritage

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Jazzmin Crawley

Girl, That's Scary (Podcast)

4d

Alpha is beautifully shot with great dialogue, however when time and reality unravel the film becomes a bit difficult to follow.

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Alan Zilberman

Washington City Paper

5d

It introduces idea after idea without much care about how they might combine into something greater than its parts. The result is a muddling of styles, themes, and a sense that someone needed to help curb her worst impulses.

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Cary

6d

So complex and moving! Terrific acting!

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Kyle

6d

While not like the previous films of Julia Docournau in terms of its ambiguity, it is no less powerful in terms of emotional weight. Well shot, and interesting twist towards the end makes for a great emotionally heart wrenching film.

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Roy J

Apr 1

Can't believe a 2-time Palme d'Or winner made this. Boring, messy, and amateurish.

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Ghederick Eshmont

Mar 27

Julia Ducournau is amongst the world’s best filmmakers, though Alpha has some jagged edges & misfires, it’s still quite mesmerizing

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James

Mar 27

Interesting Story that goes to Lynch-land

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Marc S

@RT88027183 5d

Another bizarre, incomprehensible and uninteresting film by Ducournau. Don’t waste your time and money as I did. I’m done with her films.

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Julia Ducournau

Director

Emma Mackey

Infirmière

Golshifteh Farahani

Maman

Tahar Rahim

Amin

Finnegan Oldfield

Professeur d'anglais

Mélissa Boros

Alpha

Alpha: Exclusive Movie Clip - What Happens to You, Happens to Me

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Alpha: Trailer 1

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Alpha: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Alpha, a troubled 13-year-old lives with her single mom. Their world collapses the day she returns from school with a tattoo on her arm.

Director: Julia Ducournau
Producer: Éric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
Screenwriter: Julia Ducournau
Distributor: NEON
Production Co: Mandarin et Compagnie, Kallouche Cinéma, Frakas Productions
Rating: R (Language|Drug Content|Sexual Material|Some Underage Drinking)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 2h 2m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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