No one does horror comedies quite like the filmmakers from New Zealand. Peter Jackson understandably deserves quite a bit of credit for putting the country on the map when it comes to the subgenre, thanks to titles like Dead Alive, Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and even The Frighteners. Once Jackson got too busy with his adventures in Middle-earth, the legacy continued with movies like Black Sheep, Housebound, and Deathgasm.
And, of course, Taika Waititi‘s What We Do in the Shadows pushed New Zealand’s reputation for horror comedies to new heights, as the movie got its own spin-off TV series and launched Waititi’s blockbuster career with Marvel Studios.
A new horror comedy from New Zealand premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, and today the movie Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant has gotten a trailer and a US release date. You can check out the trailer below before the movie hits Digital on October 27.
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant is a wild New Zealand body horror comedy following Mary, a messy millennial underachiever who accidentally becomes alien-pregnant and has to face skeptical doctors, a useless baby daddy and her oversharing mother in order to survive and reclaim her life. Written and directed by New Zealand filmmaking duo THUNDERLIPS, the film marks their feature directorial debut and expands on their 2024 short Help, I’m Alien Pregnant, with Hannah Lynch reprising her role.
Also starring in the movie are Yvette Parsons (What We Do in the Shadows), Arlo Green (Shortland Street), and Jackie van Beek (co-creator of Australian The Office).
With nearly 20 reviews calculated, the movie currently holds an 94% positive rating on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewing the movie out of Sundance, Bloody Disgusting‘s Meagan Navarro explained, “Lynch is a fiery lead, and Mary’s journey is ultimately satisfying. It’s more conversational than full-blown body horror insanity, but the filmmakers ensure that there’s no shortage of gross-out gags, birthing pods, horny tentacles, and bodily fluids to showcase just how gnarly pregnancy really is.”
RogerEbert.com was also impressed by the movie’s gore, as Robert Daniels writes, “THUNDERLIPS aren’t afraid of grossing out their audience (points for showing Boo’s alien penis), pushing Mary and Boo through an exaggerated pregnancy that dials up the way women’s bodies change while expecting by more than a few notches. They’re also pro-choice, finely walking Mary’s desire for bodily autonomy with the comedy of her carrying her baby to term.”
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant hits digital on October 27.
Are you looking forward to the movie? Let us know in the comments below!