Alien: Romulus (2024) Official 20th Century Fox Trailer
Old Model, New Parts
Seven years after the last Alien film was released, Alien: Romulus is the newest entry to the 45-year-old franchise. Alien: Romulus marks the first film produced under Disney after they acquired 20th Century Fox, followed by other revitalized Fox franchises such as Predator and Planet of the Apes. In a decision many felt would degenerate some of these great franchises, Prey and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes showed that Disney was putting effort into their acquired franchises. Alien: Romulus is no different.
A New Band of Misfits
Set between the events of 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens, Alien: Romulus follows a group of young adults living on the colony Jackson’s Star. This mining colony works for the Weyland-Yutani company, the infamous corporation behind many of the events throughout the previous films. Looking to flee their dreadful lives to live somewhere more prosperous, they discover an abandoned spacecraft floating in orbit that contains cryostasis chambers. With these chambers, they could escape and make the long journey away from Jackson’s Star, only for their dreams to be halted when they face a terrifying life-form aboard the spacecraft.
Alien: Romulus was directed by Fede Álvarez, who also directed the 2013 Evil Dead remake and 2016’s Don’t Breathe. The script was written by Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues and produced by Michael Pruss, Walter Hill, and Ridley Scott. Portraying the new crew are Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Aileen Wu, and Spike Fearn.
Quickly becoming one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood, Cailee Spaeny delivers another stellar performance following her roles in Civil War and Priscilla. It’s easy in horror films for protagonists to come off as inept, but Spaeny brings a competent and quick-witted personality to her character Rain. From the start, the movie doesn’t waste any time in getting you emotionally connected to her character by explaining her tragic backstory and establishing her current difficult circumstances. Although it’s hard to compare her to Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Ripley, considering that she has earned herself a spot among one of Hollywood’s best characters, Spaeny can carry the torch well.
Along with Spaeny, David Jonsson’s character, Andy, sets the movie’s heart. Andy’s relationship with Rain and their complicated bond is one of the many new elements introduced to the franchise, but it serves as a welcome edition. From the start, Andy is sympathetic, but as the film progresses, Álvarez finds ways to worm Andy’s role into the narrative in such a way that causes audiences to judge and second guess their view of him. However, the rest of the characters fall short by comparison with these two. Some of the other characters are also given exciting backstories but are underdeveloped to the point that they’re almost forgettable. With so much attention put primarily on Rain and Andy, the others nearly come off as white noise.
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Retro-rewind
With Alien: Romulus placed between the events of the first two films, the set designers can recapture the sci-fi feel of those films. All of the technology used in the movie looks as if it were ripped straight out of the original 1979 film, especially regarding how the spacecraft appears. From the computers to creep corridors to various buttons and nozzles seen on the ship, it allowed the movie to recapture the 70’s and 80’s nostalgic feeling. Having familiar settings also helps viewers immerse themselves in Alien’s world. It never felt like forced fan service, but rather the filmmakers honoring the lore established.
Outside of the mise en scène, Alien: Romulus blends elements from every movie, paving the way for more references to the franchise. While some of these allusions work within the context of the film, others feel out of place. Quoting famous lines from the previous movies doesn’t bog the film down but rather makes for many annoying moments.
Álvarez respects what came before him by utilizing practical effects, which paid off. When characters are face-to-face with Xenomorphs and other various creatures and objects, it adds a more horrifying feel. From the subtle details of the slime and texture of the aliens, it comes off as a more realistic and organic being than having an utterly computer-generated one, mainly compared to how the films created the creatures in the previous two entries, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. It allows for more tense scenes, as the danger feels more natural.
All Killer, No Filler
The best part about having a director like Álvarez take over the franchise is that he returns the series to its horror roots. No matter how great Aliens is, the James Cameron-directed movie seemed almost to taint the franchise, as it appeared to shift more toward action than horror. In Alien: Romulus, Álvarez reminds the audience how horrifying the world of Alien is and goes for a full-fledged scary movie. It makes the encounters between the characters and the aliens much more tense and terrifying, seeing just how unstoppable the nightmarish creatures may seem.
While most of the movie will please Alien fans, the final fifteen to twenty minutes go slightly off the rails and will divide audiences. It does introduce an interesting aspect to the franchise’s lore, but it comes out of left field. Due to this element of the film being thrown in at the last minute, it’s slightly underdeveloped and not given the time to fully explore the ramifications this has on the series. Nonetheless, it does serve as another terrifying element that keeps the horror feel going.
Alien: Romulus injects new life into the franchise and serves as a significant expansion of the universe. It adds new elements that make it exciting while still having plenty of callbacks from all of the movies in the franchise, making for a nice blend of old and new. While most of the characters lack development, Rain and Andy are some of the best characters in all of the Alien movies, serving as the heart and soul of the film. Alien: Romulus could serve as a stand-alone story set in the Alien universe, but hopefully, Álvarez will continue playing in this sandbox.
Alien: Romulus is currently playing in theaters.
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Author
| Mason Kupiainen is a recent Butler University graduate with a degree in Creative Media and Entertainment. His work has been published in Butler Collegiate, The Mall, and Byte BSU. Along with written work, he has a videography portfolio with Indy Blue Video, Byte BSU, and Ball Bearings. |
I am an aspiring author living and working out of Honolulu, Hawaii. I received my bachelor's degree in Art History at Westmont College and then pursued a master's in Museum Studies at the University of Hawaii. I am currently working on a few novels, and am thankful for the opportunity to expand my creative writing voice at Dead Talk Live.