There's a smart simplicity to the title Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant. Out the gate, you know the premise of this body-horror comedy: A woman gets pregnant by an alien and needs her mom's help. And you've got a sense of the movie's cheeky sensibility. But can this indie offering out of New Zealand meet the expectations audiences might have for such a wild title? Because if you're going to promise a weird-ass movie, you better deliver weird-ass. (Looking at you, Anaconda.) And I'm pleased to report that Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant does just that.
All hail THUNDERLIPS, the Kiwi writing/directing duo who have made the leap from kooky commercials, candy-colored music videos, and wild short films to a feature that is one of the strangest films I've seen in at least the last decade, if not ever. Like, if you love the Daniels' Swiss Army Man, I predict your odd heart will adore the goofiness, gloppiness, and overall WTF of Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant.
If you like big swing cinema, you won't want to miss this one. And there’s more to it than being utterly bonkers.
Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant delivers on its promise and goes far beyond.
Credited as THUNDERLIPS, Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor have crafted an absolutely deranged story that's hilarious, heartfelt, and unapologetically gross.
Hannah Lynch stars as Mary, a twentysomething underachiever who still lives with her mum (Yvette Parsons) Cynthia, who is tirelessly — even gratingly — supportive. So, when Mum hears that a young man with a deformed penis has moved into their apartment complex, she suggests Mary seek him out. After all, Mum suggests, Mary's internet search history — which includes tentacle-porn anime — suggests she might be into that!
Before you can say "get out of my room," Mary meets Boo (Arlo Green) in the community laundry. Some awkward conversation leads to clumsy mutual masturbation, not only revealing Boo’s gossiped-about genitalia — which looks kind of like a clam with tentacles and testicles — but also ends in a fateful ejaculation that sizzles through Mary's clothes and — you guessed it — gets her pregnant.
Mary's understandably peeved about this predicament. Thankfully, her mum is happy to help her get post-coital contraceptives. But simple human medicines won't stop this sperm. Boo's mom, Ann (Jackie van Beek), will explain: He's part alien because she was impregnated decades before during an abduction. So, his seed isn't of this world. And it's causing Mary all kinds of hilarious and horrifying problems, like a hyper-accelerated pregnancy.
Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is uniquely and unabashedly hilarious.
As shown in laugh-out-loud comedies like What We Do in the Shadows and The Breaker Upperers (both of which also feature van Beek), New Zealand comedy at its best is an intoxicating blend of dry humor and absurd premises. Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant has such a stellar sense of humor, which perfectly suits its setting. One moment, we're watching a pretty typical dust-up between a surly twentysomething daughter and her chipper mum; the next we're seeing another mum gently chastising her half-alien son for masturbating, because his blue/electric ejaculate makes the lights in the building flicker. Let's not annoy our new neighbors, sweetie!
THUNDERLIPS fills their fucked-up and funny film with such comical contrasts. Mary is ornery, snarling at everyone from her mum to her otherworldly baby daddy, and a small army of doctors who treat them both like science experiments as they seek help. Boo is the absolute opposite: wide-eyed, passive, and mumbling. (Though he says he has an OnlyFans account, where he's more of an exhibitionist. But he doesn't show his face.)
Then there's their mums. As sniping as Mary is, her mother is endlessly cheery, with Ann being dryly shut-down in contrast. Altogether they make for a chaotic collective as they maneuver through modern medicine trying to stop this pregnancy, which is speeding along in hours instead of months. And just as THUNDERLIPS won't shy away from showing off the alien junk in Boo's boxers, they won't balk at exploring the mind-breaking weirdness of pregnancy.
Mary is plagued by strange rashes, projectile vomiting, and her boobs growing abruptly and intensely. Standard stuff, right? Wrong. We're not talking Knocked Up or Neighbors-styled pregnancy jokes. THUNDERLIPS pushes it further, with a clear Aliens influence, but with bold splashes of color that keep the body horror from gestating into nightmares. And that all culminates into a totally bonkers ending with a setting that pushes the pregnancy weirdness to a whole new level.
Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is gross and deeply human.
Mary is a bitch. But watching her be bossed about by her well-meaning mom, impregnated by the bozo next door, and then poked and prodded by doctors with curiosity but little caring, it's easy to see why. She's having to advocate for herself in a world where too many people assume women not only want to be mothers but just should be.
At no point does Mary want this baby, so her pursuit of an abortion is the main thrust of the plot. Everyone around her speaks with either a comically flat effect or in a jaunty tone, making it clear she feels surrounded by fools. "Why must you make this all so humiliating?” she understandably bellows at a doctor.
Lynch is incredible in every moment of righteous rage. THUNDERLIPS rejects the Hollywood pressure to create a heroine who is feminine, gorgeous, kind, or even talented. Like Muriel's Wedding, Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant centers on a loser who is compelling without being inspiring. Lynch brings brilliant verve into this role, colliding with her daffier co-stars while grounding this unhinged tale of accidental alien pregnancy through gritted teeth and a hard stare. Every time she tells someone she's "alien pregnant" it's funny, because of how frank — and frankly pissed-off — she is. Mary may be accused of being mean, but she's rightfully furious at the world around her that would bully her into the role of mother.
THUNDERLIPS shows a keen sensitivity to this maternity pressure without getting sentimental. By making her pregnancy so extra(terrestrial), they bolster her feeling that the world has gone mad around her. The final act, which involves several female perspectives on pregnancy and parenthood, finally creates a safe space for Mary. And the conclusion is well-earned yet shocking in its subversion.
On its surface, Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant plays like an outrageous midnight movie, rich in wild jokes, gross-out gags, and racy sci-fi spectacle. But beneath that, THUNDERLIPS has built a compelling mother-daughter tale that empathetically probes the choice to be child-free. So, if you see this for the unapologetically unhinged comedy, you won’t be disappointed. But you might walk away with some refreshing representation and weirdly prepared food for thought as well.
Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant was reviewed out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
