Ridley Scott’s life-defining Alien (1979) was pulled from the mind of HR Giger and grappled with the limitations of the time to create a cinematic classic, formative to modern horror. Since then, three other directors took their stab at his tour de force, to varying degrees of success, and many videogames have contributed the strengths of interactive entertainment to the IP.
Somewhat sardonically, Ridley Scott’s return to his career-maker with 2012’s Prometheus was relatively prepossessing at best and chagrining at worst; the film left many, myself included, feeling that Ridley Scott should have left his beloved child in the hands of better parents. Over a decade later, Fede Álvarez has taken an ambitious gambit with yet another well-established horror franchise (after directing the reboot of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead (1981) in 2013) in the release of Alien: Romulus (2024).
The opening moments succinctly reveal the film’s love for the entirety of the prior franchise. Weyland Yutani’s dystopian working-class oppression is at its most mortifying yet, the existential weight of the subsistence of androids is still omnipresent, and the sci-fi setting is absorbingly vivid but grounded.
Rain (Cailee Spaeny) upholds the standard of relatable, three-dimensional female leads that the audience has grown to expect from the films, whilst still being distinct from the iconic Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), hosting more anxiety and sympathy and lacking her extra foot of height. Andy (David Jonsson) is introduced alongside Rain and completes the central duo that remains a highlight of the viewing and poses as a key element in surpassing prior entries in the series.
I went in with what I thought to be realistic expectations, formed by viewing all seven prior films and playing some of the games, and was pleasantly surprised by the film’s ability to frighten me at several points. Andy builds on the already-established capabilities of androids to develop the tension that underpins the entire experience. This central duo and their dynamic carry the challenge of pushing viewers to the edge of their seats and holding them there throughout.
None of the remaining characters are allowed to share Rain and Andy’s spotlight, but this feels more like a natural consequence of the plot rather than a repairable flaw of the film. Significantly, all characters maintain a capable presence, and none serve to plant holes or contrivances within the plot. The focal space crew are deeply reminiscent of the Nostromo’s crew, a high appraisal of Alien: Romulus, and set the precedent for Fede Álvarez’s various homages to earlier entries.
All sets are beautifully lit and dressed in practical effects to emulate and elevate the environments of the Nostromo, Prometheus, Auriga, Covenant, and Aliens (1986). Jump-scares are tactfully employed throughout these settings in heterogeneity, and the xenomorphs and other aliens perfectly amalgamate practical and digital effects to express appreciation for the franchise and maintain its horror identity. The references to prior films are lightly portrayed through the musical leitmotifs of Alien and Prometheus, and more intensely through exact regurgitations of dialogue and events.
Most viewers easily navigate scenes to determine their inspirations, and the references inimically break any given moment’s tension and immersion to evoke other films, often inviting unfavourable comparisons. The xenomorphs are often withheld from the frame and are effective motivators of conflict individually and in abundance. Whilst your mileage may vary, most moments of the experience aren’t particularly scary or gory, and this is in line with the emotional experience confronted watching the other films.
The focal space crew are deeply reminiscent of the Nostromo’s crew, a high appraisal of Alien: Romulus, and set the precedent for Fede Álvarez’s various homages to earlier entries.
However, the last twenty minutes, despite some obnoxious references to Ridley Scott and James Cameron’s films, are extremely captivating in the visceral discomfort and creative horror of their content. Most of the closing sequence feels like it lacks the identity of the franchise, except for elements of HR Giger’s disgust for maternity and its inherent pain, and this elevates the rest of the experience, leaving the audience with goosebumps after watching.
Alien: Romulus is still in cinemas in the UK in time for the spooky October season and made for the perfect film for me to experience my first solo cinema venture, accompanied only by my ‘zippermouth’ xenomorph plush, who I can only assume left satisfied. It is still extremely easy to carp and chunter about the repetition the film often embodies when compared to other entries, but ultimately it still maintains the structural integrity of its hull when compared to the various others that have flown before it.
I’m glad that I can, again, look forward to another Alien film. I’m especially looking forward to Fede Álvarez’s next, non-IP, horror film. Alien: Romulus shone very brightly, it’s just that I, like many others, prefer to watch my horror films in the dark.
