by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
A group of young space colonizers finds more than they were looking for as they scavenge a broken and deserted space station in Alien: Romulus.
Rain and her “brother,” a synthezoid named Andy, are desperate to get off of the mining colony planet where they work but have been told that they do not have enough credits. Along with her friends, Rain comes up with a plan to get enough cryogenic fluid so they can escape the planet on their own. The plan is to scavenge the fluid from a space station that has appeared before the station crashes into the rings of their planet and is destroyed. As they break into the station, Rain discovers that her friend’s plan involves leaving her brother, who was programmed by her now-deceased parents to protect her, behind. Unfortunately, plans change when the crew finds unexpected guests on board and Andy may be the key to survival.
The screenplay for Alien: Romulus is written by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. The movie stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabella Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. Alien: Romulus is directed by Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead).
When Fede Alvarez brought the movie Don’t Breathe to life, he showcased an ability to create incredible amounts of tension with very little dialogue. He created a tense thriller/horror/action movie that was smart and remarkably inventive. Alvarez does the same thing with this film. While there is more dialogue in this film, it is the silent moments that are the strongest. While many of the sequels seemed to forget about the claustrophobic environments that caused terror on their own, Alvarez dives deep into them. Because the characters are miners, it makes sense that they would have no problem squeezing into tight spaces but, knowing what we know, tight spaces equal fear.
While Romulus is unbelievably the seventh film in the Alien franchise (ninth, if you count the Prometheus films), the best part about this film is that it is a complete throwback in more ways than one to Alien and Aliens, the first two movies in the series. All the most frightening components of the franchise are here in this movie complete with the viewer’s knowledge of just how screwed the scavengers are when the facehuggers show up.
Cailee Spaeny gives us the expected Ripley vibes but it is David Jonsson’s portrayal of Andy that is moving. Jonsson (Rye Lane) expands his abilities by playing the pitiable, tender-hearted, and protecting synth that morphs into something different and ruthless when faced with the deadly attacking aliens.
Alien: Romulus is a no-frills, old-school, run-and-fight-for-your-life thriller that you will remember from the origin of the series. There are a couple of twists thrown in to keep it fresh but nothing confusing or distracting about origins and other storylines that bogged down the other sequels. The only drawback to the film is that it leans hard into the fact that it is a sequel. While the movie does explain a few things (mostly to set up the possibility of future sequels) and can stand on its own, there are a lot of things that you will not understand completely if you have not seen the first two movies, including the presence of one original character in the movie and his significance to the story. Honestly though, if you haven’t seen those first two movies, why are you going to see this one?
Rated R for bloody violent content and language, Alien: Romulus is a thankful and immensely fun return to roots that will leave you with nightmares and wanting more. It’s the sequel that we didn’t know that we needed. By the way, it’s incredible in IMAX.
Alien: Romulus is in theaters nationwide on August 15, 2024.
Grade: B