Playing out as an “interquel” between Alien and Aliens, Fede Álvarez’s sci-fi horror Alien: Romulus (2024) finds miner Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) and her android brother Andy joining a group of space colonists at a seemingly abandoned outpost. Chest-bursting and face-hugging aliens await their arrival.
A seemingly straightforward premise elevated by creature horror and practical effects. On paper, Alien: Romulus is quite a simple story of exploration and survival. It doesn't have the convoluted worldbuilding of Alien 3 or Alien Resurrection or the more impressive mythos of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. But if you look back at the earliest chapters, Alien and Aliens too relied on a simple “kill the alien, protect the crew” motto. What Alien: Romulus lacks in narrative depth, it makes up for some spine-chilling jump scares and animatronic creature effects. The Xenomorphs bear the same slimy and salivating look at H.R. Giger's original designs from Alien, but writer-director Fede Álvarez lets his imagination run wild. The ever-reproducing, acid-bleeding creatures that sci-fi audiences have grown up with evolve into such monstrosities by the end that they can be best described as “nightmare fuel.” Relying on the same retro-futuristic technology of the first film, Alien: Romulus also creatively throws around video game gimmicks like zero gravity floating, guns that automatically lock on the target for accuracy and occasional first-person shooter perspectives. It might seem a lot to take in, but it makes the world of Alien all the more immersive.
Fede Álvarez retains his horror auteur status even with a big studio property. A reason why the Alien franchise arguably lacks uniformity is perhaps the number of directors it has changed. Ridley Scott stuck to minimalist terror in the first one, while James Cameron went all guns blazing for the second one. And let’s not delve into the ill-fated sequels. But in the case of Alien: Romulus, it’s exciting to see that Álvarez is ready to bring his affinity for creative gorefests and in-your-face jump scares to the world of Alien. In fact, when the band of young space colonists is walking around the space station Romulus, it almost feels like you’re watching his 2013 Evil Dead remake or home-invasion thriller Don’t Breathe (but in space). Álvarez’s brand of horror might come off as slightly campy in scenes, but he balances it well with moments of deafening silence as well. Alien: Romulus isn’t just an anthology of space horror gimmicks. There’s enough atmospheric tension as well that goes on to prove why the 1979 original is still effective all these decades later.
Cailee Spaeny makes for a good Ripley stand-in. Forget Glen Powell, Cailee Spaeny has had quite the 2024 with Priscilla, Civil War, and now this future cult hit. While her Rain Carradine doesn’t have the best dialogues to boast, Spaeny still conveys a sense of fear and urgency as she enters the claustrophobic confines of Romulus. In particular moments of exasperated rage and frustration, Spaeny proves why this franchise’s best protagonists are the most human. The same applies to her adoptive brother Andy, a synthetic human played by David Jonsson. The Rye Lane actor’s performance can be borderline hammy at times but he makes up for it with occasional bouts of empathy (and even rage). Once again, it’s proved that some of the best performances in Alien are by actors playing emotionless androids.
Immersive gory horror and bold Xenomorph experiments make Alien: Romulus a bold continuation of the Alien saga.
