Review by Jan Mangion
Arriving seven years after Alien Covenant, Alien Romulus sees Fede Alvarez replacing Ridley Scott in the director’s seat. Set between Alien and Aliens, it focuses on a group of young colonists who scavenge for cryo chambers to escape to the sun planet Yvaga. It is during this search that they come face to face with the deadly xenomorphs.
Alien Romulus takes the “Back to Basics” approach. It’s very straightforward and doesn’t reinvent the wheel. The premise is one we’ve seen done in previous installments of this iconic franchise leading to predictability in the events that follow. Most of the characters that we root for are also very generic and nothing to write home about. Cailee Spaeny, the main lead, and David Jonsson are the only ones who are cohesively written characters we can really connect with. Both are very likable and great in their roles and their central relationship is a highlight where you sympathize with what they are going through.
It is essentially a greatest hits installment with many callbacks and nods to the previous movies, especially Alien and Aliens. Thankfully, the fan service isn’t too much on the nose and is nicely implemented into the plot except for one cameo that just didn’t work for me.
It’s a solid effort for what it tries to do and gets many things right. For one, the aesthetic and mood. It understands how an Alien movie should look and feel like and shows this in full effect in both its horror and production design. The sets are grimy and dark which excellently replicate the first movie. I loved the decision to use practical effects on the Xenomorphs and face huggers that made them feel as terrifying and threatening as ever. There is a sense of tangibility in their mobility and presence which of course adds an authentic call back to the original film.
Alvarez knows how to build and create horror evident in what he did in Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead a few years ago. He continues that here with its use of tension and dread in the presented set pieces. It takes a bit of a while for the horror to come into place as it uses its first few minutes to build its central characters and the world around them. But once the horror vibe is set in motion, I was completely on board. There are genuinely good scares in Alien Romulus and the action is exciting and very inventive with all the acidic slime and gore one comes to expect within an Alien installment.
Alien Romulus does lack its own identity, due to the legacy left from its predecessors but continues what made this franchise great in the first place with a claustrophobic haunted house vibe both in Alvarez’s use of horror and sets.
Final Score: ✰✰✰1/2