Sundance 2026: ‘Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant’ Gooey New Zealand Comedy
by Alex Billington
February 7, 2026
Every year at Sundance there’s a handful of indie films that are so weird, so funky, and so much fun, that it’s hard to use words alone to describe them or explain them. That’s the magic of cinema! Let the film speak for itself, let the visuals do all the talking, along with the characters of course. One of the most peculiar films in the 2026 selection is this one: Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant from New Zealand. If you’re curious based on that title alone (which you should be) then the only thing to add is this brief intro: When a messy millennial underachiever accidentally gets alien-pregnant she must overcome sceptical doctors, a useless baby-daddy, and her oversharing mum in order to survive and reclaim her life. Beyond that, it’s better to just watch this film without any more details and have a good time following the story of Mary and her icky, gooey, weird pregnancy. It’s exactly as the title says – about a young woman who gets pregnant with some kind of alien. Alas, don’t expect much more than that here. This is a true indie where the budget and focus is quite limited, but the creativity is off-the-charts in terms of telling this story & making viewers squirm at the strangeness.
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant is the latest creation of New Zealand filmmaking duo known as “Thunderlips” – writers / directors Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor. Their own intro on another site explains best: “Thunderlips are genre chameleons; they’ve made music videos in the style of a 90’s sitcom, an online teenage love story using only GIFS, a hippie samurai girl 70s cop show, a hipster tone piece, LBTQ cinema verite, a 2000s white rap hip hop video, an 80s teen horror, and an animated computer nightmare; all whilst using every capture medium you can shake a stick at from 35mm to Hi-8 video, and often making use of practical in-camera effects.” Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant is a low-key, indie sci-fi comedy premiering in the Midnight section at Sundance starring actress Hannah Lynch as Mary. She’s lonely, hungry, horny, and bored. When she encounters the son of her new neighbor in their laundry room, the next thing she knows, she’s pregnant with his alien baby. Or is it hers? Only time will tell. Thus begins the incredibly wacky, gooey, gross adventure of an alien-pregnancy. The film’s narrative choices are fun but also strange, considering at times it seems to lean into pro-life rather than pro-choice, but ultimately it works as Mary’s story above all.
The best part about Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant is the effects work – most of it is visceral, real & totally gross. The “Thunderlips” guys embrace the old school, practical FX glory of making everything slimy and strange and weird. The film itself feels like a throwback to classic New Zealand indie comedies like Eagle vs Shark (Taika Waititi’s feature directorial debut from Sundance 2007) and What We Do in the Shadows. Thankfully it has its own sensibilities and peculiarities that it fully embraces. It takes a while to really get to where it’s finally going in the end, but once it arrives there, it’s worth to wait to watch her go all the way through with the pregnancy. The result is, well – you have to watch and find out and laugh your face off at what comes out of her. Hannah Lynch is terrific in this, as it’s not easy to play this dynamic role and embrace the weirdness, but she does. She’s matched by her baby daddy played by Arlo Green. The other stand out performance is Yvette Parsons as Mary’s mother Cynthia – just the right amount of kooky and annoying. Basically, it’s a coming-of-age tale about learning to grow up and be an adult, and sometimes you’re forced suddenly when you get (alien) pregnant by some weird guy you meet in the laundry room. Hey, it happens. That’s just life…
Alex’s Sundance 2026 Rating: 7 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
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