Knock on Wood

The “fan service”-ication of the Alien franchise was inevitable. After two prequels that squarely isolated themselves from the rest of the canon, a reset was bound to happen. I’m just glad Alien: Romulus was able to quell my fears about the franchise at large…for now.

After the lukewarm reception to (the underrated) Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, it seemed that audiences wanted a return to the straightforward horror of the iconic Xenomorph hunting badass action heroes; a story that questions how to best fight the so-called “perfect organism,” while providing atmospheric tension thick enough to cut with a knife. It fell to Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez, the man who revived the similarly dormant Evil Dead franchise in 2013, to give the people what they want.

Reactions have included complains of boredom and praise for the classic thrills, and it seems that many have forgotten how the classic series found its roots – the Xenomorph doesn’t make an appearance until an hour of the original film (over halfway through), and only has about four minutes of screentime overall. Ridley Scott’s original film is a masterpiece, but James Cameron’s sequel kicked things into high gear, carrying over a dose of action filmmaking to increase the stakes in a natural way. But the franchise is contemplative at its core – David Fincher’s oft-maligned Alien³ is a complex tale about morality, sacrifice, and human nature, capping off with an ambitious final act with plenty of action to satisfy fans coming off of Aliens.

So when Alien: Romulus takes its time with setting up characters and their situations, it feels intrinsic and essential, hardwired into the DNA of the series itself. In fact, after a cold open purely dedicated to world-building, Romulus’ set-up plays like an adventure film, a Goonies-esque quest to retrieve enough cryogenic pods and fuel to sustain a deep-space escape from a dead-end mining colony. Our protagonist is Rain, played by Priscilla and Civil War breakout star Cailee Spaeny, and even though her work quota has been fulfilled, her attempts to legally leave the colony have been denied. Along with her android companion and surrogate brother, Andy (Rye Lane’s David Jonsson, the clear standout in this cast), she reluctantly agrees to go with a group of old friends to raid an abandoned space station that has recently entered their planet’s orbit.

There’s no way Alien: Romulus can be scares and thrills right from the jump; being a (theoretically) standalone entry in the franchise warrants a proper introduction, and the world of the characters must be established before the true terror can begin. I will say that this is where my chief criticism comes in: despite an opening that is happy to live in its world and characters for a while, I still could never fully grasp the intricacies of the characters apart from Rain and Andy. When bodies start dropping, I’m not nearly as invested as I would have been if the relationships had been more fleshed-out, and everyone except our two leads (despite being played by competent, committed performers) become mere vessels to propel the narrative forward.

Even so, the narrative itself is very strong, never lacking for a tenuous reason to continue. Every story beat falls very cleanly after the other, and there are very few gaps to be found. Once the excitement starts, it’s a never-ending exhilaration, most like Aliens in its utilization of the action genes. It helps that it was shot completely on real sets and primarily uses glorious practical effects, all of which gives the film a more authentic feel than the prequels.

Romulus is also the first Alien movie that is unashamedly set in space, not exclusively on a planet or confined within a spaceship for the entirety of its runtime. Sure, most of our time is spent exploring the conjoined space stations “Romulus” and “Remus,” but the advances in visual effects since the last spacebound Alien movies ensure that Romulus is able to take full advantage of its setting and deliver spectacular space-dependent set pieces.

Alien: Romulus is at its best when Álvarez releases any inhibitions and lets loose: a slice of dismal future life, injected with a healthy dose of creature-driven terror, able to fit comfortably into the established canon while confidently doing its own thing. The Xenomorphs are violently delightful, the facehuggers are given an unexpectedly dynamic role, and the bonkers third act is a messy love child of every Alien climax that has come before. I had a big grin on my face the entire time, and that’s not a bad thing! I’m an Alien fan, and I am willing to shout it from the rooftops when you give me something as good and fun as Romulus.

It would be impossible to review this movie without mentioning that it does include a variety of scenes where Ian Holm (who played the sinister android, Ash, in the 1979 original) is used as the facial and vocal reference for another android character. The visual effects show at the seams a little bit here, but I’ve seen many reviews and articles (perhaps incorrectly) state that generative AI, which was detrimentally used recently in the otherwise stellar indie horror film Late Night with the Devil, is to blame. I suspect the technology is more akin to the deepfake software used by Disney to resurrect Grand Moff Tarkin for Rogue One, but until there’s a concrete answer, it’s best not to cry wolf. It may undercut when generative AI (which is the kind of AI that places creatives at risk of losing their jobs – other AI technology to speed up human processes rather than replace them is not the major issue) is used more dangerously. In Alien: Romulus, it’s not much more than a dodgy visual effect, and was undoubtedly done with the full cooperation and permission of Holm’s estate.

Speaking of, it’s also worth noting that while Romulus maintains the franchise’s trademark anti-corporation stance, the blow feels softened now…and seeing as this is the first Alien film post-Disney acquisition, it’s not that surprising. Can you believe this was originally going to be a Hulu original?

Alien: Romulus gives me faith that there is space to tell fresh, original stories within this nearly fifty-year-old franchise, and like Star Wars, this is a universe we will see a lot more of in the years to come.

Alien: Romulus is playing in theaters now.