Fede Alvarez has become a reboot darling in the horror world. His version of Evil Dead (2013) shocked audiences and won over a whole new generation of fans. Personally, that movie has grown on me over the years because it helped me see that not every Evil Dead movie has to follow the same exact formula as Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981).
It can follow the same lore and be set in a whole new era. Fede steered more toward brutal gore, as opposed to Sam’s more comedic tone, breathing new life back into the franchise. So, when it was announced Fede would be directing a new Alien film, I, along with most of the horror community, was ecstatic.
Set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the movie follows Rain and her adoptive brother, Andy, a reprogrammed droid, on the sunless colony, Jackson’s Star. Unhappy with their living conditions, she and her young space-colonizer friends decide to board a derelict spacecraft in order to excavate its cryostasis chambers to use them to escape to the planet Yvaga, a farming planet.
From this point, it is a nonstop thrill ride of extreme tension, facehuggers and xenomorphs galore.
You can tell from the production design, the practical effects and the score that this movie was made by an Alien fan for Alien fans. Fede tells El Pais, “Directing an Alien movie is something I’ve wanted to do for years. When I finished Don’t Breathe [2016], I started with the plan of presenting my idea to Ridley Scott.”
Lucky for Fede, Ridley signed on to mentor and produce Alien: Romulus. Ridley’s influence is spread throughout the film. For example, the scenes on Jackson’s Star are very reminiscent of the world in Blade Runner (1982), another Ridley Scott film.
The visuals in space are stunning, while also creating a claustrophobic tone. The red warning lights, combined with low-lying fog, add an element of texture and “haunted house in space” feel. The sound design is powerful. It was composed by Benjamin Wallfisch and samples from past Alien scores by composers such as Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner and Marc Streitenfield. There are several gripping moments and sounds inspired by several of the movies in the franchise.
Even the font on the technology was borrowed from the 1979 film. As a lifelong Alien fan, I ate all this up.
Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson) both deliver noteworthy performances. Rain proves herself to be a force to be reckoned with (much like our girl, Ripley) and Andy is a breath of fresh air, who plays the part of an android to a tee.
One of the themes that Fede wanted to tackle was the relationship between humans and androids. Rain and Andy have great chemistry onscreen and even though Andy is a synthetic human, you still have compassion for him. Speaking of androids, there is a little CGI used for an android they are calling “Rook,” that is weak. Although I understand why they did it and maybe it was purposeful, it didn’t distract me from the rest of the movie.
The impeccable practical effects make up for it.
The xenomorphs in Romulus seem so much more horrifying than those in more recent Alien films and that it is due in part to the practical effects. Fede incorporated the use of shadow for his shots, so we get tastes here and there of the creature but not the full design, leaving our minds to create a terrifying picture. That is a lesson from the Ridley Scott playbook that was used in Alien (1979).
Fede decided to use practical effects in order to have something tactile for the cast to interact with. Cailee Spaeny tells Comicbook.com, “I do think it makes it scarier, though. I feel like my brain just knows when it’s CG and when it’s practical, like the first Jurassic Park. I know those are men in suits, but I find it way scarier because it’s right there in the room. I hope that the audiences also feel that.”
The creature design is out of this world, and I hope to see more behind the scenes on how the aliens were created.
The reception of Alien: Romulus has been quite divisive amongst fans. The third act will have you either loving it or scratching your head. This is the point in the film that diverts from the everyday Alien formula (aliens hunting down a hopeless crew) and sets itself apart as a strong competitor for best in the franchise. It is a bold decision and wildly horrific with a touch of body horror that will make horror fans rejoice, and hopefully die-hard Alien fans will, too.
I find this Alien installment similar to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: a one-off story has enough credibility to live between Alien and Aliens and possibly create another branch for the franchise to build from. Whether the finale has a definite or an open ending is for you to decide. Fede has proven himself to be one of the greatest filmmakers in the last decade and Alien: Romulus is another win in his reboot playbook. I give it four out of five stars and I cannot wait to see it again.
Rated R — 119 minutes — 82% Rotten Tomatoes