I walked into last night’s screening of “District 9″ with a full-on pit in my stomach. An accidental viewing of “Nightmare on Elm Street” at age 5 has left me embarrassingly sensitive to violence and gore over the years (as well as tragically prone to awkward movie dates), and science fiction – particularly R-rated science fiction – has a nasty habit of utilizing both. Also, a quick scan of reviews showed an ominous adjective trend that predicted a rather unpleasant viewing experience. “Bleak,” “disturbing” and “grim” don’t usually headline promo posters, and for good reason. Nonetheless, word-of-mouth about the film has been exceptional, often focusing on the surprising debuts of both director Neill Blomkamp and actor Sharlto Copley, and given the frequency with which the movie is bantered around in awards circles right now, I figured it irresponsible not to see or review it.

I will say this: I was right to be nervous. If you’re on the squeamish side, “District 9″ is going to push your buttons in some shockingly visceral ways. That said – there’s the strong heartbeat of a great story thumping underneath the gore, and if you can get through the violence, you’re in for a highly intelligent ride.

“District 9″ succeeds on two major levels. The first is the “we’re-not-even-going-to-try-to-pretend-this-isn’t-a-metaphor-for-apartheid” commentary  on issues of racism (alienism?), segregation and fear of the “other” running throughout the film. The second is the film’s pseudo-doc cinema verite style and tightly wound plot. A spaceship appears in the sky over – not coincidentally – Johannesburg, South Africa, and when its doors are opened, a group of injured and severely malnourished aliens are discovered huddled on board. These are not the empowered extraterrestrials of  “Independence Day” or “War of the Worlds” – the creatures here are on the brink of death, and feebly subject themselves to life in makeshift refugee camps while the world figures out what to do with them.

Wikus van der Merwe (played by Copley) is an overeager pencil pusher at the Multi-National United (read: U.N.) and is shown touring through the slum-like camps with a documentary crew. The MNU is notifying the aliens of their eviction from the camp to new barracks further removed from the city’s increasingly tense population. All manners of apartheid references are touched upon here, from anti-”non-human” signs at local establishments to derogatory nicknames for the visitors (“prawns,” a nod to the creatures’ crustacean-like appearance) to greedy street runners who exploit the newcomers for personal gain. Wikus – whose bumbling character initially calls to mind Murray of “Flight of the Conchords” – is tasked with leading the relocation effort, and he does so excitedly, as detached as everyone else from the aliens’ plight. That is until, during a seemingly normal raid, he becomes infected with a virus that suddenly and violently begins to turn him…well…definitively non-human.

The storytelling here is first-rate, helped along the way by clever repackaging of several major science-fiction cliches as well as nods to the film’s cinematic forebearers. Wikus’ crumbling transition into a prawn immediately calls to mind “The Fly,” with several similar gross-out sequences as that film, and secret test labs, hothead military commanders and shadowy governmental agents are about as time-honored of traditions as you can get in sci-fi.

What makes “District 9″ particularly intriguing is seeing it just a month after watching blockbuster smash “Avatar” in the same theater. While “Avatar” is like a Disney ride for preschoolers compared to the viciousness of “District 9,” both films center on a protagonist who has comfortably demonized a different species and is blithely unsympathetic to that species’ flight – until he (willingly or not) takes on the form of his foe and experiences life through the looking glass of his once-enemy. As Wikus becomes literally dehumanized, he grows figuratively more humane – aware for the first time of the consequences of hatred and hostility on a race outnumbered and outmaneuvered by its oppressors.

The degree to which I loved “Avatar” visually was considerably mitigated by my disappointment in its lackluster plot. With “District 9,” thankfully, audiences end up getting the best of both worlds. This isn’t a particularly expensive nor expensive-looking movie (the budget was $30 mil, surprisingly low by Hollywood standards), yet the gritty cinematography completely enhances and is enhanced by an intelligent story. Story, at the end of the day, is why we go to the movies – and if both films make the short list this morning of Oscar Best Picture nods, as I suspect they will, that is the reason I’ll ultimately pull for “District 9.” Because the best science fiction films don’t just make you jump out of your seat, or scream, or slump dazzled in a stupor in front of a screen. They make you think – a feat “District 9″ pulls off exceptionally well.

“District 9″ is playing now through Thursday at the State Theatre. For showtime and ticket information, click here.