Matisse van Rossum’s review published on Letterboxd:
Alive in Joburg is the short film by Neill Blomkamp that District 9 is based on, and for having a run time of less than seven minutes (including credits), it does an excellent job of creating the atmosphere that I love so much about District 9. Having not seen it until after I saw D9, it's hard to imagine the effect it would have had on me as a first time viewer without the context D9 provides, but it still manages to be incredibly intriguing, and most importantly, a very original concept.
Filmed in a documentary style that more resembles a student-made documentary rather than one of professional quality, Alive in Joburg is a brief, concise look into some of the issue that arise when living amongst unwelcome aliens in a city that already has a history rife with racism, poverty, and other societal issues. Unlike District 9, this short presents the prawns (not yet given that name) as even more alien and unrelatable, and also more shrouded in mystery. They keep themselves wrapped in clothes or long pieces of plastic tarp and parts of their faces are pixelated out, making them much creepier and much more strange than their District 9 counterparts.
Alive in Joburg also presents some interesting concept ideas, which Blomkamp left out of D9, which part of me would like to have seen further developed, such as the riots of human citizens against the aliens, as well as the creatures' theft of resources via tentacle-like tubes from their ships. However, since District 9 is an almost perfect film in my opinion, it didn't need these aspects to be included, although it might have been interesting to see how Blomkamp developed them.
The one scene of Alive in Joburg that feels sloppy and out of place is the scene in which two soldiers battle an alien in a mechanized suit. It's the one scene not shot documentary style and features some pretty unconvincing CGI and just overall doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the short. Other than that, it's a very well executed film, with a fun little appearance from Sharlto Copely, in a slightly different role from that of Wikus van der Merwe. All in all, Alive in Joburg is a must see for any fan of District 9. It's an excellent way to see how a simple concept can be developed from a short, 7 minute film to a feature length sci-fi masterpiece.