Screening followed by a Q&A with film’s director, Choi Dong-hoon.

A robot guard keeps alien prisoners trapped on earth within human brain cells, but when they threaten to escape, he opens a portal to the past to stop them. Meanwhile, 600 years earlier, a clumsy chi master, the ’Girl Who Shoots Thunder’ and a pair of sorcerers try to get their hands on the ‘Divine Blade’.

Following the memorable box office titans The Thieves and Assassination, hitmaker Choi Dong-hoon returns with his biggest project to date, the giddy first installment of an ambitious two-part period drama/sci-fi action offering. The veteran director ably commands an A-list cast that includes The Handmaiden’s (2016) Kim Tae-ri, Believer (2018)’s Ryu Jun-yeol and big screen return of Kim Woo-bin.

Borrowing a page or two from classic yesteryear Hollywood sci-fi action classics like Alien, Back to the Future and Terminator, Alienoid’s breathless genre medley bounces around past and present with a colourful coterie of oddball characters and trenchant humour, with Choi’s jaunty and unmistakable directorial stamp clearly shining through.

The prongs and protagonists of this sprawling and dynamic fable coalesce into an explosive climax that will leave you hankering for more. Lucky for you, part two will be heading to a theatre near you next year.

Pierce Conran