Alien: Romulus (2024)

Álvarez knows how to stoke fear in his films. While I feel some of his films are better than others, one thing that is consistent is how successful he is at generate an atmosphere of tension and unease that is palpable. He is a good fit to take the Alien franchise back to its roots and that's what Romulus is. It is a distillation of the Alien mythos, the structure of the early films, and a love letter to Ridley Scott's vision. And it is very effectively a scary story. 

Romulus directly connects itself to Scott's first Alien film while also briefly referencing his more recent Prometheus prequels. Yet it also pulls in thematic connections to the other Alien films including the body horror that permeates all the films but came to a true climax in Alien Resurrection. Álvarez isn't trying to reinvent anything, but instead bring it all together to remind us why we love these stories. While Romulus is likely hoping to restart the franchise into a new series it does so by specifically focusing on what has come before. 

Once safe bet for studios who knew fan bases wanted to return to the worlds of films they loved, franchises have become controversial subjects as fans often reject what they don't see as perfect encapsulations of what they specifically love about their favourite old films. Whether its Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Star Trek or really any beloved property, fans express their purity test disappointments both online and with their wallets. Romulus seems designed as an antidote to that by trying to crack the code of how not to piss people off but still give them what they say they want. Mostly it does this but already the inclusion of Ian Holm's likeness as another version of the synthetic he played in the first film is generating controversy. Other than being the one piece of special effects that didn't work, for me it felt part and parcel of the film connecting itself to the world of the first film, especially as a foil for Jonsson's well drawn and complicated android character. Could it have been another model, therefore allowing for another actor to actually play the role instead of using this inserted imagery? Perhaps. But showing him as a common model and the emotions we have seeing him related to his character in the first movie is effective in communicating something to us the audience. Maybe his part is too big and should have been used more sparingly (which could have avoided some of the effects issues) but I'm good with him being there. 

For when it comes down to it, Romulus is a well done people-trapped-with-a-monster movie like the first but with elements harkening back to all the other films. It is a reimagining only in bringing it to the present day not in really changing anything. As someone who thinks there are no bad Alien movies (unless they have Predator in the title) seeing a film that celebrates the entirety of the series is positive. And seeing it bring it all back to the basics made for a fun, tense, and fulfilling experience. 

Alien: Romulus

Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu

Director: Fede Álvarez

Writers: Rodo Sayagues, Fede Álvarez