‘Alien: Romulus’ Review: Fede Álvarez’s Rip-Roaring Nightmare Is An Amalgamation Of The Franchise’s Most Fun Elements

20th Century Studios

First and foremost, I adore Prometheus and Alien: Covenant — and have long before social media recently tried to reappraise them — and consider them to be among the best science fiction movies of the 21st century thus far.

Despite how much I may personally revere what’ll likely be Ridley Scott’s final entries in the Alien franchise, there’s no denying that both projects are not only divisive, but neither of them could be considered traditional Alien films, as the simplicity of claustrophobic, popping-out-of-the-shadows horror gave way to a more ruminative and expanding brand of existential terror.

Alien: Romulus, for those who fall on the wrong side of the Prometheus and Alien: Covenant debate (sorry, but you’re just wrong) and have been pining for the franchise to return to its roots, delivers on that return to its roots, as the film reverts the franchise’s formula back to its gritty origins: a mysterious beacon from a derelict ship/planet goes off, and the responding crew finds themselves in a fight for survival with the galaxy’s most dangerous creature.

Master of sound Fede Alvarez — the filmmaker behind 2013’s Evil Dead and 2016’s Don’t Breathe was the perfect choice to pick up a franchise famed for its tagline about no one being able to hear you scream in space, as Alien: Romulus is an amalgamation of all the elements that have made the Alien franchise so iconic since it first debuted in 1979.

Alien: Romulus is a tight, efficient standalone Alien film that manages to bring something new to the franchise and add its own shocking entry to the lore, while also shrewdly connecting it to both Prometheus and Alien in clever and uncomfortable ways.

Alvarez takes an iconic format and freshens it up by zooming in on not just how terrifying the nightmare of the Xenomorph is but also the rapid brutality of how its dread consumes its victims. Perhaps what Romulus does best, though, is walking the tightrope between action and horror that the original helped define — you never feel like the film has swung too far in either direction and that suspension between two genres keeps you consistently unsure of what beat will unfold next

Romulus exists in between Alien and Aliens in the timeline and its construction, cherry-picking elements from each to satisfy homers of both films, yet still finding room to create something new: the 3rd act, in particular, has a set piece and a story choice that are unlike anything seen in the franchise yet and should thrill virtually everyone whose ever enjoyed any single one of these movies.

When operating at its peak efficiency, the Alien franchise is one of the most effective in the history of Hollywood as it seamlessly blends horror, sci-fi, and action to create a cinematic cocktail that reaches directly to the soul of film fans who enjoy any/all of those genres.

Alien: Romulus, which stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu, is now playing in movie theaters. Check out the official trailer below.