The director Fede Álvarez known for other horror films such as “Evil Dead” and “Don’t Breathe” comes back to the big screen do another take on the beloved franchise “Alien.” Which is believed, amongst many fans, to be the best science fiction horror film and a pioneer of the genre. This film takes place between the events of “Alien” (1979) and “Aliens” (1986), and the director of the original Alien film, Ridley Scott, was also involved in “Alien: Romulus” as a Producer, being able to guide and help Alvarez on this new version of an old tale.
While the original Alien is an incredible movie, having to downplay and criticize this new iteration just by the way it compares to the original one is a harsh way to view it, so to facilitate the review and especially for people who have not watched the original, it will be seen as a stand-alone film.
“Alien: Romulus” tells us the story of Rain Carradine, our protagonist played by Cailee Spaney, with her brother (not by blood) android Andy. These two, together with a group of other inhabitants from their colony decide to go to an abandoned spacecraft to steal cryostasis chambers so they can escape their planet and arrive at “Yvaga.” While the history is not very complex, it makes it easy for the audience to get interested and invested, while allowing them to not be worried much about the historical side and just enjoy the amazing action shown on their screens.
The characters of Rain and Andy are easily the most interesting and compelling of them all, with Andy being non-human but at the same time showing what most would consider to be the traits that encompass what all humans should be, kind and truthful. The relationship between these two is very emotional and adds a different side to the bloody horror alien film, which sounds as a weird connection, but it’s implemented correctly and is one of the highlights of the whole film.
“Alien: Romulus” brings an amazing immersion to the viewers and uses CGI effectively to create this feeling of loneliness in such a gigantic spaceship, which is where most of the film takes place. Creative decisions on how the camera moves with the erratic and almost hand-held way of filming in some takes makes the audience feel extremely nervous about what our protagonist might encounter, as well as emphasizing this fear of the “unknown” and what we can’t see, with the film being extremely dark and using it to its favor to hide the Xenomorphs.
Xenomorphs are the monsters of the film, these tall and skinny aliens with spikes and long claws are as scary as ever, with a new monster being created at the end of the film which is a huge highlight and brings the climax of the film to another level. The way in which the film combines body horror, not being able to have control of your own body and hosting a parasite with the disgustingness of Xenomorphs can make more than one of the viewers feel frightened and in horror for what occurs to the characters.
The action scenes and every single major fight against these monsters are truly eye-opening, and you can tell how much love there was in creating these scenes for both the audience and the history of the franchise. There was never a moment where I felt bored or that the movie was not doing enough, and even though the timing at times seemed off, it was a simple but exciting science fiction film.
“Alien: Romulus” is a very fun film to watch with friends on this spooky season as well as a lesson to filmmakers on how to create new iterations of old classics, making sure to respect the original source while still being enjoyable for both new and old fans alike. “Alien: Romulus” is now available on demand streaming services, such as Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
