‘Alien: Romulus’ Review: Ultraviolent Horror With A Lick Of Cameron

The latest instalment in the Alien franchise is finally here after a seven-year hiatus, but Alien: Romulus rekindles the flames of the franchise, with a film that’s a homage to three different genres of Alien cinema. 

Hailing from Evil Dead reboot and Don’t Breathe director Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus follows a young group who come across an abandoned space station. Inside, they’re met with the iconic but vicious Facehuggers and must do everything they can to escape impending death. 

The focus is on Cailee Spaeny’s Rain, a young woman engrained with loyalty and loss. Her character is the most developed of the lot, but even then, she does not receive an enticing amount of progress character-wise. As with most, if not all Alien films, it serves as a space-slasher and with that concept, most characters will not live to tell the tale making character build-up useless in many cases. The filmmakers behind this film know this, and they only give enough for the audience to root for our protagonists against the vile Xenomorphs. 

Cailee’s dynamic with her synthetic android Andy (David Jonsson) is really special, and at times funny, in a charming sort of way. The movie hinges on their dynamic and relationship, and that keeps it a lot more personal for us as viewers.  Álvarez really does know what the audience wants, and although this may not be true for a factor involving an actor, he truly does service fans in a special way. Alien (directed by Ridley Scott), the initial and most iconic film in this franchise, is famed for its intense and scary atmosphere. 

In contrast, the second most acclaimed film Aliens (directed by James Cameron) turns into an action-packed 80s thriller. Álvarez takes both of these and smashes them together, creating a diabolically scary and intense thriller with heavy action sequences that will have you at the edge of your seat. 

The movie heavily plays into the lore created by Ridley Scott’s 2012 film Prometheus, and for the third act of the movie, the connections are intense and extremely frightening, in more ways than one. The movie technically hits on all fronts. From the inquisitive but foreboding score by Benjamin Wallfisch to the amazing production design, I definitely cannot fault it for any of those elements. 

And finally, with a minor spoiler warning, an aspect that will divide audiences is one involving a deceased performer from a prior entry into the franchise. Utilizing today’s technology, Álvarez brings this person back to life and utilizes them in an expository position. It’s done more tactfully than The Flash for example, and actually is story relevant, but it’s a decision that is sure to anger many fans.

Alien: Romulus is a fantastic return to form for the Alien franchise, whilst utilising some fantastic technical aspects as well as an impressive tonal mixing pot, the movie is a must-watch for all science fiction and horror fans. 

Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny as Rain, David Jonsson as Andy, Archie Renaux as Tyler, Isabela Merced as Kay, Spike Fearn as Bjorn, Aileen Wu as Navarro and Trevor Newlin as the Xenomorph. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez, written by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues, and produced by Ridley Scott. The movie will be released starting August 14, with distribution courtesy of 20th Century Studios.