Neon already has a stacked awards lineup this season with “It Was Just An Accident,” “Sentimental Value,” “The Secret Agent,” and “Sirat.” This has led to another Cannes title of theirs—Julia Ducournau’s “Alpha”—basically getting dumped without a minute’s notice this coming weekend.
Neon did previously announce that the film would hit screens in the fall, and it looks like “Alpha” is actually now playing, but it’ll only be shown at a handful of locations, two by my count, including one theater in the Bronx.
Those poor Cannes reviews (47 on Metacritic) completely knocked out Ducournau’s follow-up to her 2021 Palme d’Or winner, “Titane.” Now, before you tell me this is an awards-qualifying run—awards for what exactly? It doesn’t even stand a chance for the Gothams or Indie Spirits. There’s word that Neon might still give it a March 2026 release, but I have my doubts.
Ever since its Cannes debut, the film has been absent from the fall fests, including Telluride, NYFF, TIFF, Chicago, and others. It only made a pit stop at the London BFI Fest.
“Alpha” is a daring, genre-blurring follow-up to Titane. Set against the shadow of the AIDS epidemic, it follows 13-year-old Alpha (Mélissa Boros), who may have contracted a fatal disease after a tattoo, in a surreal world where the infected slowly turn to marble. Blending body horror, family tragedy, coming-of-age drama, and medical allegory, the film overwhelms with ideas, emotion, and striking visual metaphors—blood in school pools, crumbling hospitals, and frozen statues.
The first half is strong and grounded, but the second half descends into Lynchian chaos, with narrative and symbolism colliding in ways that can feel exhausting.
I found “Alpha” audacious and admirable, yet ultimately overambitious, leaving me emotionally stranded and, ultimately, bored. With very mixed reviews to its name, there’s sadly a very tiny audience left for this film.