Alien: Romulus (2024)

It has been more than seven years since the last entry in the long-running franchise was released....and lord knows how long has it been since we actually saw a GOOD Alien film? (Just one person's opinion) Well the xenomorph is BACK and the titular creature has brought its friends including several "face-huggers."  :o And they're ALL after a rag-tag group of young colonists who just want to escape their dreary mining colony for a better world where there is actually daylight.  Their ticket to finding a new home is apparently on a nearby decommissioned (and seemingly abandoned) space station floating nearby in space....but not just ANY space station.  It's a massive ship called The Romulus and it happened to be run by The Company....and there happened to be some very questionable experiments occurring on-board....with some VERY questionable alien life forms.  Needless to say, things get hairy for every one on board lead by Rain played by Cailee Spaeny (Civil War) and her "synthetic" adopted brother Andy played by David Jonsson (HBO's "Industry").  Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe) directs this sequel/prequel and once again let's find out once again as to whether....in space.....NO one can hear you scream....

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

ALIEN: ROMULUS - 2024

Directed by Fede Alvarez    

Starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, Robert Bobroczkyi, and Ian Holm

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror Thriller (Audio clip)

If you're a long-running fan of this franchise like I am, there is very little delivered here from a narrative perspective in this latest entry by director Fede Alvaraez that will not seem familiar. This prequel/sequel is loaded with direct and indirect homages/references to every previous Alien film including the two most Ridley Scott-directed prequels. It's extremely reverential of the previous films to the point of distraction at a couple of points including one utterly ridiculous callback of one of this franchise's classic lines which even challenges Star Trek Into Darkness' "Khaaaaan!" moment for sheer cheesiness. 😆

And yet on a pure execution level in front of and behind the camera. this taut & brutal "haunted house in space" thriller is just firing on all cylinders at a level not reached by this franchise since....yes....Cameron's Aliens 37 years ago. Now does that mean it's AS good as either of those first two seminal Alien movies? Not quite since it feels as if this story is very much casting itself in the shadow of them - there's just a smidge too much fan-service. However when it comes to sturdy set-up, effective world-building, sharply drawn lead characters who act like REAL human beings (I'm looking at YOU Ridley with those last two 😯), an effectively dread-filled setting, sustained tension, believable stakes, well-earned scares, brisk pacing, and....overall taking the audience on a satisfying journey for two hours, this film delivers in spades! 

Alvarez (who also co-wrote the screenplay) has essentially delivered a sci-fi/body horror version of his 2016 gem Don't Breathe and I dug that about it. :) As with that movie, the story focuses on generally younger desperate characters living in poor conditions who feel that they need to take the drastically dangerous steps of venturing to an off-world, decommissioned space station/science lab to nab the necessary equipment (mainly cryo-pods) so they can travel faw away to a place which actually has sunshine. 🤨 The two main characters are Rain (Cailee Spaney) an orphaned mine worker in her '20' and Andrew (David Johnson delivering this film's trickiest performance with some unnervingly chilly facial expressions) a "synthetic" human who is basically her de facto adopted brother whom she is very protective of. As actors, I have recently seen both Spaney and Johnson deliver very strong performances....Spaney on the recent Civil War and Johnson on the Max show "Industry." And they're both even better here giving this story a core of two relatable individuals who we are rooting for and have a believable relationship....while also both dealing with an increasingly grim situation. 

Of course that grim situation relates to what they actually find on said space station....the retro-future set design, impeccable lighting and use of shadows, and an unforgivably PIERCING sound design which always reminds you of some unknown movement lurking nearby. Yeah we've heard aliens before but have you EVER heard the pounding feet of one massive xenomorph on a metal grate right above you?? 😮 Or the little tentacle finger/legs of a facehugger shakily reverberating on a table just a few feet away? It's terrifying even before you can actually SEE these creatures and when you can? 😱 It's all unnervingly fast, ferocious and goopy up close....the practical creature effects from ILM and Stan Winston's shop are just truly next level. And thanks to adept camera work from Alvarez and DP Galore Olivaros (Roma), we see JUST enough of these creatures to feel their menace balanced with a good grasp of spacial geography to maintain some mystery. 

Every setpiece works, we get plenty of creature action, and yet surprisingly I found this - despite some pre-release hype saying otherwise - to be among the LEAST gory films in this franchise. 🫣 There’s quite a bit of gnarly stuff but it never feels gratuitous especially following up the sometimes excessive gross-out splatter of the last film 'Covenant.  

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

This film features a moody, tense score from up-and-coming composer Benjamin Wallfisch which doesn’t feature much in the way of distinct themes but certainly does the job.  Wallfisch hails from London and was a protégé of one of the masters Hans Zimmer.  He has created an intense soundscape which has a lot of atmospheric, non-melodic sounds that only enhances the looming terror occurring on screen.  However at one point as our protagonists are flying away from their mining colony and as they clear the atmosphere, Spaeny’s Raine sees her VERY first view of the sun in space….and the score reaches its most majestic, VERY reminiscent of the type of music we would hear from the late, great Jerry Goldsmith who score the original Alien….this track is fittingly called, “That’s Our Sun.” (Audio clip) 

Indeed much of the score certainly fits in well with music hear throughout previous Alien films ESPECIALLY the first two with lot of scraping violins and booming brass at certain key points as were heard throughout James Horners legendary score for Aliens.  One which certainly stood out to me occurs during the final climax of the movie which I believe has divided fans with regards to some VERY unique new imagery shown on screen – I happen to quite like this sequence and also the effects involved.  Not to spoil it too much except that YES I found it quite sufficiently scare – this track is called, “The Offspring.” (Audio clip)   

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Now I can’t be 100% sure of how directly he was involved with some of these decisions and I hate to keep picking on Sir Ridley but I would say that the weakest aspects of this story are its continuous attempts to connect the story to his two recent prequels along with some clunky connective tissue to that very first Alien movie....not all of it is bad but much of it is just unnecessary. Hey he's the Producer, this was HIS baby at the outset, and he's STILL Ridley so it's his right to do so of course. But remove a few needless callback elements and you have a truly powerhouse Alien film.  Ridley is a living legend who has directed several classic films including of course the original Alien, The Martian, Gladiator, Blade Runner, and previous episode Thelma and Louise but sorry he is not infallible.  And as a long-time fan of this franchise and him as a director, I would consider both Alien: Covenant AND Prometheus to not only be the weakest films in this franchise but among the weaker films in is filmography.  Hey I liked last year’s Napoleon and I’m certainly pumped for Gladiator II coming out this fall….but with regards to THIS franchise, I feel the same way which most Star Wars fans USED to feel just about ten years ago with regards to George Lucas…..maybe it’s time for him to move on.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Throughout this latest entry in the saga, our titular creature otherwise known as the xenomorph effectively does what he OR she has always done best: bursting out of some one’s chest cavity, biting with those metallic teeth, stabbing with that sharp tail, and…..let’s not forget one of its TRUE clever defense mechanisms, the sulfuric acid for blood.  Not to spoil too much as this just came out but that PARTICULAR feature plays a significant part in wat I would consider to be my personal favorite setpiece in the film which occurs about half-way through.  Let’s just say that this sequence is not only quite scary but it also introduces us visually to a life-cycle stage of the xenomorph which has not been shown on screen before….involving some kind of "cocoon" and I’ll leave it at that.  

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

From a pure atmosphere standpoint, this is likely the most effective Alien film since Alien 3 and I DO consider that a high compliment as that film for all of its flaws was a masterclass at enveloping you within a grim environment. Yup Alvarez' is demonstrating some Fincher-like chops here along with giving us a generous taste of Ridley, a few bites of Cameron's confined space action acumen, and even a few dabs of some of the nutso-European sensibilities which Jean-Pierre Jeunet brought to Alien Resurrection....a film I have never loved but has grown on me over time thanks to several fun performances and memorable set-pieces. :) Not to spoil anything but Alvarez even manages to take ONE highly questionable creature concept from that first batch of movies and actually does it significantly better this time around!  For putting his own stamp on this property and directing probably THE scariest Alien film since that first sequel, Fede Alvarez is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Overall I found this to be a fun, thrilling ride, a worthy addition to the franchise, and I would LOVE to see Alvarez return albeit doing more of HIS own thing as opposed to going the JJ (or Ridley) route. It pleases me to say that this latest Alien adventure left my chest bursting with excitement! 😆

Now Playing in Theaters

And that ends another FACE-HUGGING review!